Moonlit Fox
by Arashi Uzumaki-Namikaze
Summary: Tsukino Usagi was betrayed by those she thought she could trust. Taking her little brother, Shingo, along for the ride, she wished for a change-and she got it. Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto has only a few protectors in the village; only a few would hesitate to cause him pain. It has caused him to develop both a mask and unparalleled strength. They meet, and the world changes-forever.
1. Part One: Chapter 1

**Summary (longer): Tsukino Usagi was betrayed by those she thought she could trust. Taking her little brother, Shingo, along for the ride, she wished for a change-and she got it. Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto has only a few protectors in the village; only a few would hesitate to cause him pain. It has caused him to develop both a mask and unparalleled strength. When Usagi and Naruto meet, Heaven and Earth shake, and Hell trembles, for neither of them is a** _ **normal**_ **shinobi by any means. And that may just be what changes their world forever. Naruto/Usagi is the main pairing.**

 **(A/N: Hi everyone! This is my attempt at a new story in the Naruto fandom and the culmination of several years of thought with all of these concepts that I invented back when I was a more inexperienced writer.**

 **I finally have a world in which these concepts work together-or rather, I engineered it until it worked.**

 **Warning: The shinobi world is MUCH darker than in canonical Naruto and there are no real jokes or 'canon' personalities to lighten it. Where Naruto is naive in canon, he's not nearly naive enough to follow that now.**

 **Second Warning: For those of you bothered by/triggered by explicit attacks on someone (understanding the injuries inflicted) then please skip the scene after Naruto confronts Mizuki. This scene ends in the big bold and italicized brackets [END SCENE], and I will be using these warnings for graphic scenes in the future.)**

 **Edit: Hebi's personal pronouns have been fixed. Thank you for pointing that error out, dpdj1.**

 **Note: If any of you see other errors, please PM is having trouble with showing reviews for this story right now, for some reason. That also goes for any review that isn't short enough to fit into an email (i.e. any review longer than a few lines) completely. Thanks!**

 **Chapter One: The Scroll of Seals**

Two people stood atop the Yondaime's head on the Hokage Monument, side-by-side, in the early hours of the morning. It was about 3:30am, two and a half hours before sunrise, and between shifts of the ANBU guarding the Monument-the most boring job the ANBU ever had.

To any shinobi these two were familiar in the daylight-yet they weren't dressed so people would recognize them. They were both dressed all in black, with gloves and close-toed boots instead of the usual sandals and masks shinobi wore, and hoods covered their hair.

The only noticeable differences between the two of them were their heights and a mask.

The taller of the two of them, standing at about 5'4", went without a mask, revealing intense sky blue eyes with catlike slits for pupils, though the lower half of his face was still covered by a black mask. Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto was the only one supposed to be implicated in the theft of this scroll, so he went without-and at some point he would be using his Genjutsu, to throw the Hokage off. After all, he couldn't just waltz into the Hokage's office and defeat the old man one-on-one. Sarutobi was just too strong.

The other, standing at about 5'2", hid her face with a half-mask of white with a cat's shape, with black shading on the forehead and near the eyes. The lower half of her face was also covered by a black mask, and bright, almost-cerulean gray-blue eyes stared out from the eye holes of the mask. She was here as his backup and trusted partner. Usagi's job was to ensure the theft went off as planned and that the ANBU didn't notice anything _off_ about Naruto's presence, or lack thereof. The ANBU and protective seals on the Hokage Tower couldn't sense her chakra, thus wouldn't react to her Genjutsu-which was how they'd get in.

Together, the two surveyed the village, and Naruto did a last sweep of the Hokage Tower with a very small pulse of normal chakra. Small enough that it went undetected.

They glanced at each other again, more for reassurance that the other was really here because touch wasn't going to work.

The use of any human chakra near the Hokage Tower would ensure both of them were caught, so they had to do this the mundane way. Well, mostly. Usagi wasn't sure her reiki would guard them well enough though most of it was going into making sure Naruto's Genjutsu remained active. Usagi needed to keep the ANBU from noticing the differences between the duo tonight and who they were in the village at large.

The Sandaime Hokage also needed to be there as a witness, which was why the two of them had waited until he arrived in the middle of the night to get a head start on his paperwork. Sarutobi did this every Friday morning without fail, so that he could spend the afternoon with his family.

And it was this habit they were going to take advantage of to ensure Naruto was implicated, to draw out the traitor in their ranks. It would be a bonus for them if other people took advantage of the fact.

Usagi bit her tongue nervously, running through the plan again in her head. She had framed enough civilian council members of theft and other humiliating, often-discrediting crimes on Naruto's behalf over the past four years. Several council members were replaced yearly, though only the worst offenders were framed as traitors.

She'd started the moment she had enough stealth training to sneak up on Naruto, and had gained the chakra control necessary to keep pace with him-for the most part. Usagi was always nervous about their more elaborate pranks and schemes; she was never the confident one of the two of them, and she always, _always_ had a backup plan in place to destroy the evidence. It kept them from getting caught.

And better yet, it made them an unstoppable team. Usagi would always pull them out of trouble before they were ever implicated, with her numerous backup plans. Naruto, meanwhile, came up with the bulk of the plan and worked out their newest targets, doing reconnaissance and surveillance.

Their one failed prank on the Hyuuga compound had led to their 'rivalry' and Usagi taking the fall for Naruto, to protect his secrets. He would've been known as a smart 'demon' if he were caught, and reinventing herself as a prankster was the best way around that. And while Naruto could (and did) cover up after his pranks very well, and he could lie with the best of them, having a partner also allowed them to do _more_ than they could individually.

Not that the village at large knew they were partners, let alone friends. Usagi and Naruto were very careful to keep their friendship under wraps around others, and _especially_ while they were at the Academy. It was too dangerous for her to publicly associate with him, even if they were best friends in private.

Naruto silently reached over and took her hand in his, squeezing gently and broadcasting as much reassurance as he could. She squeezed back in thanks, feeling some of her nervous tension leave, glancing over at him.

He raised an eyebrow, very slightly, asking for permission.

Usagi gave him the barest hint of a nod in return, and the two of them vanished in a Wind Shunshin from the top of the Hokage Monument to the graveyard. Specifically, the civilian side of the largest graveyard in Konoha. The graveyard was always empty at this hour, and there were no ANBU guarding the civilian side of any graveyard, as civilian graves weren't nearly as valuable. Sometimes there were Chuunin assigned to clean the place up (respectfully) but no one defiled graves in Konoha.

Then again, most of Konoha was more worthy of trust than the entire Minato ward of Tokyo, where Usagi had spent her childhood.

It was also almost directly behind the Hokage Tower, just out of range of the chakra sensing seals. The minute Usagi and Naruto arrived in the graveyard, Naruto pressed a paper seal onto his arm, hiding it beneath his black outfit and letting it suppress his chakra. It would last for just long enough to get them inside and to the Scroll.

Usagi closed her eyes, calling up her divine chakra and concentrating on her appearance and Naruto's. So long as she only used her divine chakra, they could both sneak past seals meant to pick up on normal or demonic chakra signatures. Her power felt like ice moving through her veins, and Usagi shivered as they walked past the first barrier.

Sarutobi was not immune to Usagi's and Naruto's pranks, though he had less of a reason to fear them than most. The most he had to fear from them was forgetting one of their birthdays, or that they needed a little extra payment each time they pulled off a successful prank.

He'd caught them after they pranked the Inuzuka compound, and offered to pay them for their services; discreetly, of course, but it helped Usagi and Shingo get on their feet and allowed Usagi and Naruto to take on and protect Kurama and Suzume as well.

When she gave him the slightest nod and faded out of the human visual spectrum, Naruto moved, switching bushes periodically to ensure they weren't noticed and staying downwind of the four ANBU posted outside. Each of the ANBU rotated positions every fifteen minutes, and the easiest time to move was in the midst of the rotation. All Naruto had to do was keep his chakra as suppressed as possible, enough to let her divine chakra cover his.

As Naruto moved, Usagi pressed up behind him, closer than any normal shinobi could get to their partner to make sure the ANBU couldn't see her shadow in the low light around the Hokage Tower. The door was easily entered, since it was always slightly ajar, and the ANBU only glanced at it once or twice a night. And that was if they thought there was any possible way a threat to the village could sneak in.

In Usagi's opinion, the ANBU were _far_ too confident that they would catch an attack on the Hokage Tower without keeping a closer watch on the door itself. But their loss was also Usagi's and Naruto's gain; it would give both of them an excuse to know at least two of the jutsu in the Scroll of Sealing.

To say nothing about their actual plans for the Scroll.

Once they were inside the first layer of ANBU guards, Naruto and Usagi slipped inside the door with ease. Usagi felt the seals pulse as they normally did, once every five minutes, but none of the seals reacted. No one had thought to calibrate them for divine chakra.

Together, she and Naruto silently slipped into the lobby, out of the path of the two ANBU silhouetted against the hallway down from the Hokage's office and the Sealing Vault. They hid behind the secretary's desk, within view of the hallway but low enough that they couldn't be seen.

Usagi had noticed the pattern the first time she'd helped Naruto prank Sarutobi, and no one had thought to change it since, not even Sarutobi himself. The ANBU would sweep the lobby quickly, but never glance behind the secretary's desk until it was time for them to turn around and they never did a chakra scan. The first ANBU (since they always patrolled inside in pairs) would always look underneath and around the lobby's furniture, while the other watched their backs. And they never turned around, assuming all threats were either external or unimportant.

Obviously, they had never considered that someone might attack the Tower in the middle of the night, but that meant the ANBU weren't doing their jobs right.

They would learn soon enough.

The ANBU came down the stairs, as expected, as Usagi and Naruto both quieted their breathing. Their next move depended on who was on duty. If it was Inu or Ketsueki they were in trouble and would have to use Usagi's chakra once again to slip past the two ANBU, which might compromise the whole mission. They weren't supposed to be here, but there was always the chance that someone had switched their shifts around.

However, when they saw the first ANBU's mask, Usagi let out a very quiet breath, slowly and evenly, as it was _Karasu_ who was on duty tonight. He didn't treat either of them well-and he took out that anger on their siblings, too. Shingo was the special 'target' this ANBU used for his hatred when he couldn't get to Naruto or Usagi. Usually it was verbal, but he'd tried to lead Shingo right to the Kumo delegate who was in the process of kidnapping Hinata Hyuuga just to get rid of Shingo.

That meant the whole Tsukino-Uzumaki family hated him.

Karasu found Usagi an annoying, stupid brat at best and a demon-lover at worst, and he saw Naruto as nothing more than the demon he contained. She still didn't know how the dumbass had actually managed to make it into ANBU, but it seemed that the civilian council had had a hand in things.

She knew tonight was his punishment for disrespecting the blond brats again in front of the Academy a few weeks ago. And right where Ketsu-nii could catch him in the act, too.

Ketsueki-nii had refused to tell Usagi or Naruto what the man had done, but claimed he was not only a traitor but a foolish actor against Konoha's stability. He'd been hanging out in his civilian guise near the Academy, and probably muttering things or starting rumors about them again.

And Ketsueki-nii was exactly like his namesake; he was vicious and ruthless towards anyone threatening his family, in any way. It was part of why Usagi and Naruto loved him so much.

It had been totally worth it to see the expression on the ANBU's faces. Ketsueki-nii had even used a Namikaze technique to show them the memory, with Naruto's permission, and both Naruto and Usagi had been _howling_ with laughter with what Ketsueki had done to Karasu.

They had topped the prank since, of course, but it had been hard to do.

Once Karasu was focused on the rest of the office, Naruto slipped past him, moving just slowly enough that Karasu wouldn't detect a change in the air flows in the room. Just to be even more careful, he slipped past Karasu and Karasu's partner, Hebi, by slipping between the shadows cast on the walls. Hebi was posted on the ceiling, guarding his partner's weak spot.

However, Hebi failed to look at the walls right where they intersected with the stairwell floor. The rafters were easy to watch, as well as the rest of the hallway between the staircase, but Hebi never looked at that precise place, even after several warnings from Ketsu-nii. He also kept a closer watch on his partner's back and the area Karasu was checking, letting them move past him without getting caught.

Usagi didn't dare use even a tiny amount of her divine chakra to sneak them past; Hebi was sensitive to divine chakra, likely due to the small amount of devil's chakra in his system. Instead, she focused on keeping herself as small as possible and kept to the shadows.

Hebi didn't turn around at all, creeping along the ceiling and flipping his head up every few times to check the floor, but he never spotted them. Mercifully, they made it to the Vault Room without any further complications. The Vault Room was, however, trapped so that only one of a Hokage's immediate family could get in, unless the door was ever so slightly ajar.

The door was firmly locked tonight, but she was with the Yondaime's son, so it didn't matter. Naruto glanced at her with a foxy smirk visible in his eyes, detaching two of the fingertips of his gloves-his forefinger and thumb. Naruto's claw sliced into his index finger, and he wiped the blood onto the doorknob over the Yondaime's security seal.

Usagi heard a faint _click_ as a small ripple of yellow and blue chakra passed over the door, weak enough to let them enter but not strong enough to alert the ANBU. The blood vanished into the handle, leaving no traces.

The door opened soundlessly at Naruto's light touch. He opened it just enough to let Usagi slip in behind him, and then left it that way, since they were hoping to find the Scroll of Seals first, and get caught _second_ , if they were caught at all.

Chances were they would be caught, but only after a few hours had passed, with her disguise off them.

The Vault Room was small, but bigger than Usagi had expected. Several hundred scrolls lined the walls, each set aside in four separate areas. Most were behind something that reminded her of glass-some sort of sealing barrier, probably released by a blood seal. The last two weren't, though the Yondaime's scrolls were shimmering in the low light as Naruto drew closer to them. Strangely, there were fewer of those here than in the Namikaze clan house. Minato-dono must have thought they would be safer there, given its protections.

And Minato-dono hadn't been wrong, given that the Namikaze clan house was so well fortified that not even Naruto and Usagi could find it.

The Scroll of Seals was resting innocently among the Namikaze-Uzumaki scrolls, a large, though plain scroll (when compared to the Senju clan scrolls) with ends of dark gray (almost black) and a few lines of silver crisscrossing its surface. It was thick, and looked heavier than the others, but in comparison to the Namikaze-Uzumaki scrolls, it was almost garishly flashy, trying to draw attention to itself.

Maybe that was the point. It was unassuming among the scrolls _here_ , but it still looked like it might hold something impressive. The Namikaze-Uzumaki clans' scrolls were so ordinary-looking that nobody would think to look twice at them or their secrets. They didn't even have special clan designs on them, unlike the other clans' scrolls.

Usagi felt someone moving closer, someone very powerful. Naruto froze.

They glanced at each other, and Usagi raised an eyebrow, asking _should I check?_

Naruto shook his head, glancing back towards the door as he tilted his head to the side, and Usagi regulated her breathing, quieting her heartbeat as best she could without slowing it too much. The taller blonde closed his eyes in concentration and then opened them, his voice barely a whisper on the wind. "It's Jiji."

Shit. They didn't have nearly as much time as she'd hoped for. The Hokage was early. She'd hoped they would have time to copy the whole scroll twice over; now all they had time for was one copy.

Hyakumei pulsed once on Usagi's back, reminding her to stay calm, and she took a deep, soundless breath. She signed to him [I assume this means we go with your plan,] and Naruto nodded, turning on the lights so the Hokage would come this way.

Usagi formed a one-handed seal in her left hand, half of a seal she had invented to help her focus her chakra. Gathering just enough, she reached out and touched Naruto's forehead, and he closed his eyes.

To all eyes save her own, Usagi wasn't there, and Naruto was now back to 4'10", wearing orange, and grinning like the 'dobe' they liked to pretend he was in their graduating class. He caught her eye and winked at her as Usagi let herself fade completely into the shadows in the room.

Then Naruto said to himself "They'll be sure to pass me now," and Usagi winced, hating the way he had to change his voice, too. "Ha! Found it!"

In truth, his Transformed voice also got on Naruto's nerves, but he was much better at keeping it from showing than Usagi was, which was why some of their 'animosity' was real. Besides, nobody would expect Naruto to be so…different, not after dealing with a very stupid-acting Naruto for years.

Usagi waited very patiently in the shadows, concealing her chakra signature as she heard the Hokage rush up the stairs. Moments later, Hiruzen Sarutobi ran in; "Naruto!" she closed her ears to the scolding, and could tell Naruto wasn't listening, either.

"Jiji? Oh shoot," Naruto slung the scroll across his back, looking like a deer or rabbit caught in a trap. "Oiroke no Jutsu!"

Usagi sighed as Naruto turned into a nearly-naked woman to distract the old man, with whisker marks, hair like hers, and only tiny bits of smoke covering her privates. She cooed at Sarutobi, winking at him and moving around in such a way that made her chest (obviously) bounce, and the Hokage's face turned red before he fell backwards with blood spurting out of his nose.

She didn't find this as funny as he did, but then again, given how many male ninja were perverts (even if secretly), it was also the perfect way to distract them and run. Usagi had used it to turn into a version of Setsuna several times.

And Usagi refused to feel any shame for using her enemy's body like that. It was effective. As was the male version when she wanted to 'drop her Henge' and make people back off if they weren't taking 'no' for an answer.

Naruto snickered at the downed Hokage, and after a glance at his face Usagi did too, though much more quietly. Naruto opened the window to the Vault Room, and after checking that Usagi was beside him, leapt out even as the ANBU ran up the side of the Tower.

Usagi caught him mid-flight and before they hit the ground, both had vanished in a Wind Shunshin to the Shodai's forest, near Training Ground 44. Sure, the alarm would be raised, but they had at least two hours and then some before anyone would catch them.

Landing in a deserted clearing, Usagi released the transformation and fading effects over both of them. Naruto pulled off the chakra suppressing seal.

"I'd rather not do a blood clone," said Usagi hesitantly, and Naruto turned to her. "I don't want to let them know we can use that one."

"My thoughts exactly, but a Mizu Bunshin is too obvious, and Doton is harder to make quickly," said Naruto, frowning. "We could use Kage Bunshin, but that would be…we don't have an excuse for that."

"We're already going to have to excuse ourselves when we catch this idiot," Usagi pointed out, "I just don't want to have to claim the Blood Clone as a clan technique yet. Katon Bunshin is also too obvious by scent alone. And the Kage Bunshin is in the scroll-we have an excuse for knowing that."

Naruto's frown deepened "You're right, but we shouldn't know it yet. It has to be a solid variant that we already know. How about a Light Clone? I'd wager no one in the village knows about _that_ variant, and it's not as dangerous as the Blood Clone. It'll just look like an accident involving the regular Illusion."

Light Clones were an accidental invention of Usagi's. She'd taught it to every one of the Namikaze-Tsukino-Uchiha-Uzumaki group, after the accident; the clone was created out of Light oriented chakra and solidified light, so it could take several hits, and it didn't have a scent that differed from the creator's in any way. When it did dispel, it faded into sparkling multicolored light.

It was almost indistinguishable from the regular Clone, though, as it wasn't quite solid when she played around with it.

The problem with Light Clones was that they required a lot of control, much more control than Naruto and Usagi had ever displayed before openly, and also ate up a good chunk of their chakra. Light Clones possessed about 1/100th of their creator's chakra, but took 1/10th to create, though Usagi only needed 1/50th of hers with her superior control.

The Light Clones were very good for assassination, deception, and infiltration. Everything on them was solidified light.

Usagi nodded "We should be able to recover the chakra they require by the time the ANBU catch up to us, or Mizuki-teme tries to meet us. Asshole should never have even tried to mess with you," she said, shaking her head.

Naruto smirked beneath his mask "Damn right he shouldn't have," he replied, "Nobody goes after my best friend like that."

Usagi bared her teeth beneath her mask in a silent, predatory grin in response. Mizuki had had it out for Naruto since they got put into his class, after failing their previous graduation test. After Usagi had begun switching test papers around and screwing up Mizuki's attempts to mess with Naruto and hold him back, he'd started taking it out on her too, guessing she was responsible for Mizuki's mistakes. She was, of course, but that didn't mean he had the right to go after either of them like this.

She'd retaliated by embarrassing him in front of the entire class to the point that he probably wanted to kill her almost as much as he wanted to kill Naruto. She asked really, really obvious questions that it was obvious he'd skipped over the answers to just to throw him off and make him look bad. Iruka-sensei always seemed upset over it, too, so that only made the assistant teacher look even worse.

And looks meant everything to most people.

"Light Clone it is," said Naruto.

Usagi smiled at him, taking off the top half of her mask only to reattach it after wiping away a little sweat from her brow. Naruto raised an eyebrow at her but said nothing. _You still nervous?_

She gave him a very slight shake of the head. _No, I'm confident this will work._

Neither of them needed hand-seals for this jutsu, though both used the hand-seal for Kage Bunshin to focus it. They hadn't managed to erase their need for hand-seals entirely just yet, but they'd gotten really, really close and most of their jutsu were both seal-less and soundless.

Not this one, though, not yet.

" **Hikari Bunshin no Jutsu** ," intoned Usagi and Naruto as one.

Sparkling light gathered together next to both of them, silver glittering stars next to Usagi and soft golden sparks next to Naruto. They melted together, fading into two clones, each of whom resembled Usagi's and Naruto's masks perfectly.

Naruto's clone was 4'10", and resembled the 'old' Naruto, the one that everyone thought honestly existed, wearing an eyesore of an orange jumpsuit and with a stupid grin across his face. His hair was shorter than Naruto's was, with thicker, less obvious spikes in it and it was a slightly darker blond color. His eyes were a duller shade of blue, almost like chips of ice, and his whiskers were thinner and shorter. He had his hands on his hips and slung across his back was a perfect replica of the Scroll of Seals.

Usagi's clone was 4'9", and resembled the crybaby she'd been as a child, a very long time ago. Her hair was pinned up into its typical buns, with tails of pale blond hair sweeping past her shoulders, and her eyes were darker, less silvery and more human-looking. Hyakumei was gone from her back, and Clone Usagi was wearing a garishly bright neon pink track suit with a silver crescent moon on the sleeve where Naruto's blue Uzumaki spiral was on his. She had a big goofy grin on her face, too.

"Are you sure about this, Usagi-chan?" asked Naruto, turning to her hesitantly "I don't want you to be implicated if you aren't ready for it."

Usagi rolled her eyes "I think it will have more of an effect if we're both tricked, don't you? I mean, wouldn't the girl the village knows want to beat you to the Scroll? Besides, Mizuki-teme gave the mission to me, remember?"

"So, what, you want to rival me?" teased Clone Naruto, and she rolled her eyes. So did Clone-Usagi "I'm okay with that, Bunny!"

"Watch it, Fox!" shot back Clone-Usagi, grinning "I'll beat you yet!"

"Lead them away from the Forest of Death, along the edges of Training Ground Seventeen," Usagi instructed her clone. "Distract them and pretend to be Naruto's rival. You know the drill; use the same mask as before, with the plans I have."

"Will do, boss!" Clone-Usagi saluted her, turning to Clone-Naruto.

"You do the same, just pretend to be the ignorant, loud dobe," Naruto instructed his clone, "And for the love of the kami, both of you, don't kill each other. We don't need the village thinking we've killed each other, or that I've tried to kill Usagi-chan."

Usagi nodded in agreement, staring at the clones sternly until they both saluted. Then Clone-Naruto turned to Clone-Usagi, and leant over, whispering something in her ear that made her grin, and wink at Usagi and Naruto. The two clones shot off in another Leaf Shunshin, leaving Naruto and Usagi alone in the training ground.

They'd find out what that was when the clones dispelled.

Usagi and Naruto had tested their sensory abilities, and while Usagi couldn't sense beyond ten miles distant without the help of Hyakumei (it was harder to pick individual chakras out), Naruto's abilities were almost inhuman. He was an extremely powerful sensor, and a natural-he'd taught her most of what she knew about chakra sensing. No matter where their clones ran, he would be able to track them.

Naruto smirked at her, sealing the Scroll of Seals into a seal on his belt. "Shall we?" he asked, nodding in the direction of the Forest of Death.

"I think we very much _shall_ ," she said, applying just enough chakra to her feet to avoid leaving footprints on the ground. "Race you to our favorite clearing!" Usagi cried, dashing off.

"Oh, you shouldn't have done that," Naruto laughed, as he ran after her, keeping pace with Usagi as they raced for the Forest of Death by treetop. "I'll catch you yet, Rabbit!"

"Gotta run for it then, Fox, and without using jutsu!" shot back Usagi as she shot off through the treetops.

They were about as fast as each other, at least in terms of raw speed, but Naruto's rate of growth was even more inhuman than Usagi's. He'd catch her easily as he was, with a few extra seconds on her mile time that he just didn't have. He was built for speed, where she was built for strength.

It was only once they were in the Forest of Death that Usagi started to laugh too, exhaling as much as she could while she ran. Naruto was gaining on her. She could feel him getting closer and closer, and Usagi poured on the speed, doing her best not to channel chakra to her legs. That would be cheating.

They reached the clearing at almost exactly the same time and Usagi touched the tree first. It was only by a few millimeters, though, so his fingers brushed against hers, and for a moment they stood there in silence.

Then he yelled "Gotcha!" and tackled her, causing her to squeal in surprise and then break out laughing as they fell.

They wrestled with each other on the ground, squirming around until she got her legs wrapped around his torso and managed to flip him over her head onto the ground. This let her detach her mask so it didn't keep hitting her face. The minute she sealed it away Naruto flipped her over with a playful growl and a lunge, wrestling her backwards towards the tree. She tried to flip him again, but he pinned her arms to her sides. She flipped them both forwards, landing on him-if not for the quick Kawarimi (Replacement) he used to get out of the way.

This left her to fall on a log. She moved aside, rolling, but Naruto was behind her almost instantly, and she struck backwards to try and stop him from flipping her again. His legs tensed and she could feel him trying to use chakra to stick to the floor, which succeeded until she kicked at his feet, sending both of them to the ground again.

Then they were back to wrestling.

Usually, they didn't use jutsu while wrestling, but Kawarimi sometimes snuck in anyway. That was an unspoken rule-neither of them wanted to really _hurt_ each other; this was more of a strength contest. Usagi yelped as Naruto flipped her over, barely managing to flip him too, only for him to kick upwards as he flipped, knocking her over so she landed with him on top of her. He was not two inches from her face, now, and she tried to shove him off, but he was too strong.

"My win, Usagi," he said, his breath warm on her face through his mask, and a smile visible through the dark fabric.

Usagi grinned, knowing she couldn't beat him "Oh, really?" she bucked, trying to get him off her, and Naruto reached down with one gloved finger, stroking his finger along one of her sensitive sides. "Uncle!" she cried, before he started tickling her, because she was _really_ ticklish there. "Uncle. Seriously, uncle!" laughed Usagi as he tickled her anyway, making her squirm and laugh in his grip.

Naruto stopped, chuckling, and offered her a hand up. When she took his hand, _warmth-affection-trust-happiness_ washed through her and her grin brightened as she stood up, shoving her hood off. With a few more strokes she managed to brush away the leaves and twigs that had been caught in her hair, and Naruto followed suit, adding a little water manipulation to soak and quickly dry his hair, rinsing it fully after pulling the dirt from it.

"Me too, please," requested Usagi, and he soaked her hair, letting her rinse the dirt out of it with a bit of earth manipulation, and he used a bit of wind manipulation to dry it. "Thanks."

Naruto was better at raw elemental manipulation than she was, given that he had been born into a shinobi life and she hadn't. That being said, his two most powerful elements were also wind and water, while Usagi favored earth and lightning, though both of them had all five elemental affinities.

"No problem," Naruto unsealed the Scroll of Seals "So are we even?"

"Yeah, I think that makes us even," Usagi said, thinking back to their last few wrestling matches. "I won the last one, which put me one up. And did you channel chakra to your legs today?"

Naruto blinked "No," he said, handing over the scroll "Why do you ask, Usagi?"

"You were able to catch me today," Usagi said, "and I was running at full speed. I assume you were, too, so that means you've gotten faster or you were subconsciously channeling chakra to your legs."

Naruto started in surprise before glancing down at the Scroll "I guess I have gotten faster, then. I didn't do it on purpose, if…no, the hyper chakra never moved. I would've noticed it. And you didn't use shunpo, so does that mean the win goes to you?"

"No," Usagi said, as she unfurled the scroll, grinning "And we were so right." Naruto pulled out a smaller scroll, and summoned two Kage Bunshin. She unsealed his Fuuinjutsu kit from her belt, handing it over to him "Kunai Kage Bunshin? Wasn't that, and Kage Bunshin, your dad's invention?"

"It was," Naruto agreed, as he started copying the seals, and Usagi retrieved her mask with a smile. "Dad didn't invent this one, though. Bunshin Daibakuha…you want to learn it?" he offered.

"You won," Usagi tried to argue, already knowing it was futile. "You should learn it first."

"I'm also copying the Scroll of Seals," Naruto pointed out "and all the information contained within. You can treat me to Ichiraku next time if you feel bad about it. Besides, you're probably going to be the first one to figure out that earth manipulation trick that most shinobi can't use."

Usagi grinned, knowing the trick he was talking about, "Don't I already owe you ramen?" she asked, sealing her half-mask away in a seal on Hyakumei's shoulder strap.

"Well, technically yes, but not Ku, Shin, or Zume," Naruto pointed out, as he and his clones worked at copying the scroll.

Usagi winced "I wish we could be seen in public with them," she muttered, summoning around ten Kage Bunshin so she could learn the jutsu quickly, without attracting too much attention. She summoned up ten more "Search the forest for any useful supplies. Their owners won't need them anymore."

"Hai, oyabun!" the clones saluted, and took off in different directions from the clearing.

"Me too, but you know why we can't," Naruto replied quietly. "But we need to pass this year."

Usagi smirked "I left jiji the message on his desk," she said, starting her work on learning the hand-seals with her Kage Bunshin.

They'd written the Hokage a message about what needed to and didn't need to happen last night. And given that Usagi and Naruto had technically passed the exams by creating Light Clones, not to mention over a thousand Kage Bunshin in the intervening years, there was really no reason to keep them in the Academy. Not over a single jutsu.

Usagi started her work on the Bunshin Daibakuha when Naruto nodded, but kept his eyes on the Scroll, sensing that he needed the time to work. In all honesty, so did Usagi, because she needed more concentration to learn and master a jutsu in less than two hours. To help her, she added a few more Kage Bunshin to the group, including one keeping an eye out solely for hand-seals, while Naruto whistled a soft tune to himself.

She had two hours to master this. Two hours before they had to take on Mizuki-teme. It was time to get to work.

Two hours later, Usagi and Naruto were racing through the forests outside Konoha to catch up with their Light Clones before they dispelled. Having released their resistance seals, the two of them were pressing hard to get _to_ their clones without leading the ANBU right to them, while also beating Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-teme there.

Iruka-sensei's involvement hadn't been part of the plan. Naruto and Usagi had both suspected that the Chuunin was more than he let on, but they'd both thought they could trust him. Naruto cursed himself for not seeing it sooner, for not wondering why Iruka-sensei was so nice to them. He knew Usagi was more forgiving than he was, but this betrayal wouldn't go over well with her either if he was right about why Iruka-sensei was there.

And if either teacher realized what Naruto and Usagi were up to, they were going to have to escape the village on the Namikaze summons' backs. With Ketsueki-nii, Inu-nii, and the kids in tow if they could.

They managed it. Barely. Usagi and Naruto sped right past Iruka and Mizuki, chakra still suppressed and cloaked in Usagi's divine chakra, and stopped near the two Hikari Bunshin. Usagi reapplied her Genjutsu, fixing it to herself and transforming back into the stupid, dumb, crybaby girl she'd been pretending to be for eight years, and Naruto did the same with no hand-seals, pulling the Scroll of Seals across his back.

Better to have it where no one could _really_ accuse him of more than theft, even if he'd copied all of it.

"Because…I'm Iruka!" exclaimed Iruka from a nearby tree, surprising Naruto as his Clone vanished into golden sparks, Usagi's dissipating into silver, glittering shards of light.

Mizuki had stopped and was panting for air "Why…do you defend it, Iruka?" Naruto fought to keep his emotions from Usagi, no matter how hard it was, seeing Usagi's stance change from alert to tense and angry. "The demon…the Kyuubi…it _killed_ your parents! Why would you defend such a monster? It killed half our village, and even the Yondaime and your sensei! And Usagi?" Mizuki laughed "The girl's nothing more than its whore."

Now that was not true, and _that_ made Naruto angry. He felt his claws unsheathing and his teeth felt just a little bit sharper hearing those words, but he kept listening, keeping a firm handle on his youki and hyper chakra. Usagi glanced at him, her face a cold mask of fury, and he shook his head very slightly. He wanted to hear this. _All of it._

Iruka was silent for a few moments. And then he spoke, his words shattering all of Naruto's and Usagi's expectations from the Chuunin.

"That's true," Iruka said, "The Kyuubi no Youko _is_ a monster. It killed my parents, and over half of Konoha-including the Yondaime. And you're right, it did kill Kushina-sensei." Naruto bit his tongue before he said something, stunned. "But you missed something, Mizuki- _teme_ ," Iruka's voice rose. "At first, I did hate him. Or I thought I did, but I didn't understand. I didn't see it, _couldn't_ see it, but then I spent time with him. I had to; I was ordered to look at him, to watch over him by my own _sensei_." His voice strengthened "And now, fourteen years later, I know for sure that Naruto is _not_ the Kyuubi. He's proven himself as a true shinobi of Konoha, and as an ally, a trusted friend, and someone I am _proud_ to call my little brother and comrade." Iruka's voice rose "Tsukino Usagi is the _only_ person in his graduating class to treat him as he is-not as an idiot but as a rival, and a friend. As for _whore…_ I'd say the only bitch here is you, Mizuki, for listening to a traitorous piece of scum to the Leaf village over your own Hokage."

Silence fell and Naruto felt like his heart was going to burst, listening to Iruka-no, _Anga_ , this was all Anga talking, he knew it now-talking about him. He-he-Iruka, _Anga_ , he _loved_ Naruto. Naruto had never heard him say it, but Iruka-sensei was someone he looked up to, someone Naruto almost idolized despite not being fully human like Iruka-sensei was. And even knowing what he did about Naruto, Iruka-sensei _still_ loved him. Anga was one of the few guards who did their best to protect Naruto, but he'd been less effective than Ketsu-nii because he was weaker and younger than Ketsueki-nii.

Now he understood why. Now he understood why Anga would go so far to protect him, to protect Usagi.

Mizuki-teme had _hurt_ Iruka-sensei, Naruto realized as he sorted through the memories, still in shock from what Iruka-sensei had said. Iruka-sensei loved them. Loved them like siblings, like comrades, trusted comrades, and friends. He loved _both_ of them, not just Naruto or just Usagi. Maybe even despite their masks.

Usagi's hand on his shoulder snapped Naruto out of his reverie and he offered her a small, apologetic smile for his troubles.

"You don't have to apologize to me," whispered Usagi, "But I think it's time we stopped hiding." Naruto's eyebrow went up, but he didn't release his Genjutsu. "Unless you want Mizuki to believe he was beaten up by an orange-wearing loudmouth? It'd be funny, but it won't work."

Naruto shook his head slightly "The kids." Then he straightened "Ketsu-nii's heading our way. All I have to do is stop Mizuki-teme and stay alive." He looked at her "You think…"

"The ANBU are the only ones after us," she said quietly, forming the Ram seal "It's up to you." She added "And though I have _certainly_ been called worse, _I want him dead_."

Closing his eyes, Naruto shifted his Genjutsu into a simple Henge, and smirked at her "Let me handle this, Usagi?" he asked, hoping she'd let him face Mizuki-teme down and just kill the bastard.

"No way in hell are you facing _him_ alone," whispered Usagi as Mizuki-teme started to laugh maniacally. "I'm not letting this go. He called you a _demon_."

And he'd called Usagi-chan a whore. There was no contest-Mizuki-teme was going _down_ , and it was going to be Naruto that killed him.

Iruka-sensei was injured, badly, by a shuriken to the back, according to his Clone's memories. And-Naruto flushed a little, glad the mask hid his cheeks, not looking at Usagi as he remembered what the clone had whispered to Usagi's. _If this all works out, how about we go out to dinner later, just you and me?_

Damn clones and their tendencies to blurt out things Naruto wasn't ready to admit.

Taking command of the situation, Naruto ordered quietly "Heal Iruka-sensei, and cover me. I'll take out the bastard. I won't kill him but he won't walk out of this uninjured."

"You really think that?!" shouted Mizuki, still laughing "You think he's a _shinobi_? All he is, is a monster," he cackled now, and Naruto gritted his teeth, feeling his canines sharpen and his hyper chakra strained against his hold on it. "And very soon, he'll be _put down_ , just like all you demon-lovers will be!"

In a lightning-fast Shunshin, Naruto appeared in the clearing, the Scroll of Sealing on his back and Usagi standing at his side.

"If you lay one finger on Iruka-sensei," said Naruto, letting his Henge dispel, and giving Mizuki his coldest, sharpest look. The Chuunin went pale, his movements instantly becoming jerky and his heartbeat shifting to erratic and fearful "I'll _kill you after_ I torture you to death."

"N-Na-Naruto?" Iruka coughed as Usagi moved to kneel beside him, her Genjutsu gone "Usagi? W-what… _what_?"

"Stay still, sensei," Usagi whispered, but Naruto's ears picked it up as if she were talking to him "You're badly hurt, and probably poisoned, too. I will heal you, but I need you to stay still in case you have broken ribs. Naruto's fine. We owe you an explanation, but Naruto and I do actually know what we're doing."

Iruka coughed again "D-Do it," he said, coughing again, "You…you have to…he…O-Orochi-maru…"

Orochimaru. Damn, well that clinched it; they were handing this idiot over to T&I once Naruto finished thoroughly kicking his ass.

"Don't try to talk, you're making it worse," scolded Usagi, forming two Kage Bunshin "Naruto-" she began.

"I know," said Naruto; he could feel from here that Iruka-sensei was poisoned, and he gritted his teeth behind the mask, tasting blood in his mouth where his canines dug into his lips.

Mizuki-teme stank of shock, but not fear; the more fool him, given the stark difference in their chakra levels and Naruto's experience in combat versus Mizuki-teme's. But Mizuki-teme was overconfident, and working with Orochimaru to boot. He'd killed more than a few shinobi in his lifetime, whereas Naruto's few kills were difficult and didn't afford too much combat experience. Mizuki-teme probably thought he had enough power to take Naruto down, then take out Usagi and steal the Scroll of Seals while blaming Usagi's and Iruka-sensei's deaths on Naruto.

"How do you know he's telling the truth?" jeered Mizuki, sneering at him "Iruka has _always_ hated you, _demon brat._ He hides it better than the rest of us, but he's just like the rest of this village!"

Naruto silently formed several Kage Bunshin, deciding that this beat-down was going to hurt. A lot. Mizuki had hurt Iruka-sensei, hurt _Anga-aniki_ , and that was crossing a line he wasn't allowed to cross. He didn't bother drawing the obvious ninjato at his back, either. He didn't have to.

Instead, he locked eyes with Mizuki, and just looked at him, for a very long moment, letting Mizuki think he was considering the Chuunin's words. The look went on longer than that, however, since he knew it would unnerve the man and shake him of his desire to kill Naruto.

Right before Mizuki moved to attack, Naruto snapped into action, kicking the silver-haired jackass in the stomach hard enough to rupture something. The man flew into one of his Kage Bunshin's waiting arms, which used a medical Ninjutsu to then mess up the man's nervous system with an electric shock. For good measure, he had another Kage Bunshin kick Mizuki between the legs, and the man made a high-pitched noise like he was auditioning for the Konoha Opera House.

Then he dragged Mizuki up to stare him directly in the eyes, growling low in his throat as Naruto released his Killing Intent, directing it only at Mizuki. A concentrated dose of this would actually kill Mizuki from fear, which was not what he was after.

The Chuunin gulped as Naruto locked eyes with him again "I know exactly who and what I am, you piece of cowardly trash," he said coldly, venom in his voice. "And you never should have touched any of my precious people."

Then he smiled coldly and sweetly, sending an obvious chill down Mizuki's spine.

It was time to mess with Mizuki's head. Usagi and Naruto had planned this and it was a ninja's greatest weapon-deception. Usagi quietly cast a Genjutsu from her position, which would alter Naruto's features to Mizuki's eyes, so he more resembled the Kyuubi no Youko. The world darkened around the two of them, at least to Mizuki's eyes.

 _ **[GRAPHIC SCENE START]**_

"You want to see a demon, Mizuki-sensei?" Naruto asked, "I'll show you the _demon_." He laughed, but it had no mirth in it "Let's start with your legs, shall we?"

Mizuki whimpered as Naruto's KI became nearly solid, and he slapped a seal onto the man's left leg.

"Let's see how well you take that scroll to Orochimaru with this," whispered Naruto, sending a tiny jolt of hyper chakra into the seal.

True to his word, he wasn't going to kill the man without permission from the Hokage. That didn't mean Mizuki-teme would ever be a ninja again. Mizuki started to scream as the miniscule amount of corrosive, inhuman hyper chakra burned its way through his leg's chakra coils, and he flailed, trying to escape. He managed to dig a kunai into Naruto's arm, but that was all part of the plan.

The blood that spurted out was streaked with the gold of Naruto's hyper chakra and it hit Mizuki in the face, right across the eyes. The Chuunin cried out as wind chakra rushed from the injury, slicing a neat, clean hole in his hand as the kunai rocketed out backwards. This also severed most of the tendons in his hand, leaving him whimpering as the seal recollected the hyper chakra, channeling it back into Naruto and leaving scars behind.

The blood that hit Mizuki-teme in the face just moments before then started to smoke, sizzling, and Naruto smelled burning meat. Mizuki screamed again, swiping at his own face, trying to protect his eyes.

He succeeded, but only just. Now he was nearly blind, with third-degree burns across his face scarring the once-handsome (as Naruto had overheard him described) features. Even if he did get out of prison, the injuries to his chakra system would keep him from ever becoming an active-duty shinobi, and the near-blindness would be difficult to heal without the Namikaze library's secrets.

"Now," said Naruto, pulling out another seal "You know what a demon is. Do you know what we do to those that threaten our family?"

Mizuki cried out as Naruto slapped another seal on him, using fire manipulation to sear it into his skin, which started burning its way into his spinal cord's chakra coils immediately. He wasn't going to deny T&I their fun with the man, but Naruto had no intention of letting the traitor loose without some well-deserved payback. He pulled all of Mizuki's accessible chakra, at least all of the consciously accessible chakra (even that required to open the gates) towards the seal he'd created just for this purpose. Mizuki tried to fight, striking at him with his free hand, but Naruto turned his head to the side, letting Mizuki hit him just wrong enough that the Chuunin's fingers broke on his cheekbone.

The seal locked into place, sealing off all of Mizuki's chakra, and Naruto backhanded the man across the face sharply, breaking his jaw and sending him into the waiting arms of two of his Kage Bunshin. As a final insult, he snapped his fingers, "Humiliate the asshole," he instructed. "The Namikaze-Uzumaki way."

That had been much, much easier than he'd expected it to be. It was a little scary, actually, given how much damage he had dealt to the man over the span of exactly one minute and seventeen seconds. Mizuki wasn't even trying to fight now that Naruto's clones were stripping him, and painting several nasty things across his back, putting an apple in his mouth and dressing him up like a snake.

Complete with lots of paper cuts and green paint with lemon juice and a bit of vinegar in it, to make it _really_ burn.

 _ **[END]**_

Naruto turned back to Usagi, who finished healing Iruka and stood up, offering her hand to the Chuunin. In just a few moments, Naruto checked him over with a diagnostic jutsu, as he usually did with the kids.

Iruka let them help him up, glancing behind Naruto at the severely beaten and humiliated Chuunin. Naruto had let the man off _lightly_ considering that he would remove the man's capacity for shame before T &I got to Mizuki. He could have made it _much_ worse.

Iruka turned to Naruto and Usagi, stunned.

"H-How? Forget how, _when_?" Iruka managed, as Naruto unsealed the Scroll of Seals from one of the many seals on his belt, and put it across his back again.

Naruto smiled at him "It's a long story, Iruka-sensei," he admitted, "and I don't really have the time to tell it here." His Kage Bunshin dispelled into puffs of smoke, which quickly evaporated.

"We don't," Usagi corrected. Naruto winced at her expression "We do have breakfast to get to after all, right Ketsueki-nii-chan?"

The former ANBU captain leapt out of the trees, landing on his feet two feet to the left of Usagi, Naruto and Iruka. With a few steps, he put himself between Mizuki and the trio, glancing over the Chuunin where Naruto's Kage Bunshin were painting him brilliant, neon green. Mizuki was whimpering and yelling out periodically as the clones made sure to pepper him with nearly-invisible cuts first, to make sure he got the message.

Ketsueki Ookami was one of the very few ANBU guards Naruto (and Usagi by association) had had when they were younger that they both trusted completely. He was a tall man, standing at about 6'2", and had long, spiky black hair that he combed back into a low ponytail kept hidden beneath his hood. His eyes were an incredibly intense shade of blue, and he usually wore a two-part mask of a white wolf's face, the mouth twisted into a snarl with blood dripping down its chin in vivid, bright crimson. He also carried a katana-length blade across his back, within easy reach of his left hand with a black sheath and red cloth wrapped around the hilt. Given that ANBU already had an Ookami (wolf), he was nicknamed Ketsueki, after the blood on his mask, and the moniker 'Bloody' had stuck since he had officially retired from ANBU.

Unofficially Ketsueki was still on guard duty for Naruto, Usagi, _and_ the three kids they took care of, though he never admitted as much to the village at large. He was the legal guardian of all three of those children, and technically Usagi, too, just to keep the civilian council unable to meddle with them.

Ketsueki didn't even bother nudging the body "Let me guess, he took on Iruka, and tried to get you to steal that," he gestured at the Scroll of Seals. He took another look at Mizuki "And he pissed off Naruto, didn't he?"

"Damn right he did; he went after my precious people," Naruto said, and Usagi took his hand, gently squeezing it to remind him she was still there.

Usagi nodded "And from what we know, he's been working for Orochimaru for-how long did you say, Iruka-sensei?"

They'd found evidence implicating him as a spy a few weeks ago. Then all it had taken was a little maneuvering to get Mizuki-teme into the right place at the right time, and they'd caught themselves a spy.

Iruka didn't look nearly as surprised "I don't know. You didn't give him the chance to use it but he has a strange seal on his neck. I don't," he paused, "I don't know when he got it, but he's always been a bit erratic. Sir," he added belatedly, glancing at Ketsueki's flak jacket.

Anga was smooth. Smooth enough that Naruto and Usagi might have believed he never had been ANBU in the first place if not for the smell he had, and there was no person that smelled the same. His chakra was another dead giveaway though.

"Bunshin, go tell Naruto's clones," Usagi ordered a newly created Kage Bunshin. "And help him seal it off."

"Hai, taichou!" saluted the Kage Bunshin, before marching over to the group of clones painting up Mizuki-teme with lemon-saturated paint.

Ketsueki was-he was coldly _furious_ , to Naruto's surprise "I think I am going to have to have a little talk with Ibiki and Anko to make _sure_ our security is tightened. And another one with Fox-dono. _Traitors_ should not be allowed in our ranks, no matter how well-hidden they are."

Naruto clenched one hand into a fist, "Mizuki-teme should have some information. Not much, but he'll give us everything he knows, and Usagi and I can go after them for you."

Usagi's smile was not nice, even if she was wearing a face-mask like Inu and Naruto did, but Ketsueki shook his head "That's too obvious. You two have been-ah," he turned to glare at Tora when the ANBU slipped out from behind the tree. "And just _where_ have you two been?" he turned to Karasu "You, tie that thing up, and make it painful," he snapped, pointing at Mizuki.

Neither ANBU moved.

"If either of you wants to avoid Fox-dono's wrath, do as I say!" barked Ketsueki "Because I _will_ go bring her down here if I have to, to make you two lazy dolts get off your asses! Take him to Ibiki and Anko, and tell them to seal off his chakra-yes, Naruto?" he paused, looking at the blond.

Naruto smiled innocently up at him "I've already sealed his chakra off, and even if he breaks that seal, he's got those special chakra scars Dad gave people who really pissed him off."

Ketsueki smiled audibly "Good job, Naruto," he turned back to the ANBU, both of whom blanched a little "If he's been working with Orochimaru," both ANBU blanched a little, "Then he may have a cursed seal, and we need to either contain the threat or destroy it. I'll be talking to our resident Seals Masters about doing that."

"Sir!" both ANBU saluted, and a third dropped out of the trees near Naruto's back.

Naruto immediately recognized it was Neko, who was on duty for the day shift since shift change had just occurred. Naruto had no doubt Karasu had been put on detaining the traitor (and given more extra work) because Fox was upset with him over letting a 'kid' get by him, _again_. That made Naruto snicker, even if it was unkind, given how mean the ANBU had always been to both of them. It didn't matter if it were Naruto and Usagi, but Fox knew her troops needed the training and with how they treated the duo, it wasn't like she would let them off.

Ketsueki turned to Naruto and Usagi "Hokage-sama wants to see both of you in his office," he said, and then to Iruka "You as well, Iruka-san."

"Just Iruka, please, Ketsueki-san," said Iruka, smiling apologetically. "And sure, no problem."

Just one problem with that: Kurama couldn't cook, Shingo didn't like waking up early, and Suzume was probably worrying over them, since she was an early riser like her siblings. They couldn't leave the kids at home alone, not if Ketsueki was with them.

"Ah-the kids?" Naruto asked hesitantly, looking back at Ketsueki.

"I talked to Inu. He's got them for the morning," Ketsueki reassured him, "I told him to invite Fox along because I'm not subjecting them to his cooking." He shuddered "That man _cannot_ cook."

"Kids?" Iruka glanced between Naruto and Usagi, who looked at each other.

 _You want to tell him_? Usagi asked, raising an eyebrow silently as Ketsueki cleared his throat.

Naruto shrugged; he trusted Iruka, but he wasn't sure the kids would. He held up a hand and tipped it side-to-side from a flat position; _not sure. Later? Kids might not be ok with it._

Ketsueki cleared his throat "If you're both done flirting," Naruto felt his cheeks warm a little, and he could see Usagi's face turning rosy pink. "As cute as this is we really do have to go."

"We'll see you there," said Usagi and Naruto as one, disappearing into showers of silver and golden light.

Moments later, Ketsueki followed in a flash of fire, and Iruka in a swirl of water.

 **(A/N: So, is this too dark, or is this good? What do you think? Next chapter is lighter and happier, I promise-and the third chapter shows Naruto's and Usagi's softer side.**

 **And yes, you will meet Zume, Ku, and Shin, as well as learn more about Ketsueki Ookami, in later chapters.)**


	2. Part One: Chapter 2

**Usagi and Naruto are caught. Now they have to convince the Hokage that they did this for a good reason, and in the process, get themselves assigned to a team. Otherwise, they might actually end up in serious trouble.**

 **Or, that chapter in which the Hokage is manipulated into doing exactly what Usagi and Naruto want, with Ketsueki's help.**

 **I realize this is an effort at worldbuilding that you have probably never seen before. With that in mind, please remember that Naruto and Usagi will not have a traditional relationship or romance. They don't work that way, and never will. By that same token, due to EXTREMELY liberal use of the Kage Bunshin, Naruto and Usagi think more like adults than children.**

 **I hope you enjoy the OCs and amount of building that went into this. I had a really fun time with this chapter.**

 **Please let me know if there is a translation I missed!**

Naruto transported both himself and Usagi into the Hokage's office, as she'd depleted a lot of her chakra this morning with what she did, and he hadn't. They landed silently, visibly startling the ANBU who were then met with a flash of blue fire heralding the arrival of Ketsueki and a swirl of water surrounding Iruka-sensei.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was sitting behind his desk, with one hand on his crystal ball. He'd likely used it to watch their whole encounter with Mizuki-teme, and the other holding his pipe, tapping out the ash. He was a visibly aging man, beginning to go bald on top with spiky gray hair and a beard and goatee, and his skin was brown and wrinkled from spending so many years in the sun. His eyes were still sharp, though, and when standing he was about 5'10", with a deceptively slender frame. Now, however, he was seated with the Hokage's hat on his head, hiding his bald patch, and wearing the traditional white and red Hokage robes.

Naruto had never understood why he felt the need to wear traditional robes while on duty (as obviously, from his pictures, Minato hadn't done the same) but the blond respected his jiji's choices all the same. And as he could regulate his body temperature using chakra, it didn't really matter what Sarutobi wore.

It was probably because Sarutobi-jiji was concerned with following and keeping with tradition, even if those traditions were somewhat old and outdated. The man was progressive enough in his political standpoint, but he was less flexible than he might have been had he been raised in Naruto's or Usagi's time.

Nothing ever seemed to get by the old man when they were talking to him, be it about a prank or something more serious. He always seemed to know everything.

Their transformations, however, had clearly taken him by surprise-the shock that flowed through his chakra, despite not showing on his face, was genuine as he took in Naruto and Usagi. That was good, though unexpected.

Their masks had been good enough to fool even the Hokage to the point he didn't suspect them. They'd had to make those masks _very_ good, but Usagi had always suspected he knew the truth and never said anything. To their relief, she'd been wrong.

That meant they didn't have to go with plan Delta instead of plan Beta.

"Naruto, Usagi," greeted Sarutobi. "Ketsueki, Iruka." He nodded to them before turning back to the blond duo. "Why, exactly, did you two think it necessary to break into the Hokage Tower to steal the Scroll of Sealing?" he directed it at them.

Naruto glanced at Usagi, who looked back at him. She was tapping one finger against her leg impatiently, but this had been a long time in coming. They had gone over this explanation a thousand times, so often that neither of them were really nervous about it, but both of them projected it with their chakras all the same.

No sense in letting the village know just how far they had planned this situation out, and many more besides, with the help of the Time Gates.

"Hokage-sama, please send out all ANBU from the room, and activate the privacy seals," requested Naruto.

Sarutobi looked at them in surprise "You know?" but at least he didn't demand the how or why.

Both of them nodded, and a grave look came over the Hokage's face.

Sarutobi cleared his throat "ANBU, you may leave us. All of you."

Three ANBU melted out of the shadows of the Hokage's office and Naruto cast out his senses, feeling around them for any more. None of them so much as protested the Hokage's decree. Once the Hokage had formed a few hand-seals, activating the privacy jutsu, Naruto turned to Usagi.

"You turn or mine?" he asked.

"How badly do you want them hurt?" Usagi asked, her tone light but her emotions betraying how upset she was with Mizuki-teme.

That meant it was his turn. Usagi closed the window, locking it, and then returned to his side in a split second.

Naruto concentrated, closing his eyes and forming a one-handed seal while pulling at his hyper chakra. It was difficult to control, but all he needed to do was create a concentration of it around his throat, to enhance his volume. And he had fought very, very hard to learn to control this chakra. The hollow at the base of his throat, near his vocal cords, began to thrum to his ears as chakra warmed it from the inside out.

Usagi warned "I'd put in earplugs, chakra-based if you have them." All of them put in earplugs, aside from Naruto and Usagi. "Knock 'em dead, Naruto."

Naruto let out a sharp, piercing sound that would both fry any spying seals _and_ crack or permanently blow out the eardrums of whoever was listening in. He did it three times for good measure, and then let the chakra dissipate, taking a deep breath to steady himself. That chakra was nearly _impossible_ to control even when he put his full effort into doing so.

That being said, its stronger, stranger tendencies were a lot easier to control when he was paying attention.

He noticed the faint scent of burning wood, and noted that there were four marks around the office that had a scorch mark on them.

Naruto motioned for them to take out their earplugs "That should get rid of any unwanted eavesdroppers," he said.

Sarutobi nodded, frowning "Thank you, Naruto. The sealing array is supposed to detect other seals. How did you know the array was compromised?" his tone betrayed nothing, but Naruto knew he had probably suspected it was tampered with.

Naruto shrugged "It's been compromised, like any old sealing array. I can make you another one," he offered, "one that won't be so easily compromised. Even with the best inspections, people miss things, and I can also show you how it happened. Maybe later? I assume every sealing array is compromised without necessarily studying it first."

"Later," the Sandaime replied, nodding to Usagi. "Please, explain."

"You know Naruto and I are two years older than our classmates, jiji," said Usagi, keeping it short and to the point, "That's not an accident. It's personal choice. However, we had to pass this last time, and when the evidence came up a few weeks ago we devised a way to prove it."

"Prove it?" inquired the Hokage, his eyes narrowing.

Naruto nodded, "Mizuki-teme started sabotaging us the moment we ended up put into his classroom. His sole focus was me until Usagi started getting in his way by asking questions, and then he targeted both of us. And then he also targeted a friend of ours in a different class." He didn't elaborate, as Kurama hadn't even wanted to admit that much and had only done so when pressed by Usagi and Suzume. "I figured if we pranked him enough, he'd finally realize the link and stop abusing his position, but he didn't."

"If anything, the more times we pranked and foiled him, the more erratic and abusive he became," Usagi spat with no small amount of venom. "He would change our test answers to give us both failing grades, destroy or alter textbooks we were supposed to be using, deny us access to all libraries, and at one point he even tried to set me on fire 'by accident,'" Usagi snorted, and so did Iruka.

"I thought it was suspicious at the time, Hokage-sama," Iruka interjected, "If you recall my reports." The Hokage inclined his head, eyes still fixed on Usagi.

"So we investigated him, since he wasn't learning his lesson, thinking we might just be able to get him banned from the ninja corps altogether with proof. If we had no proof, the council could claim he was being framed, but with concrete proof it's a lot harder to make those claims," Usagi said calmly "what with how the civilian council treats the two of us."

Naruto fought down a growl at the reminder of exactly what Mizuki-teme had tried to do to Usagi. The man had gone after _his family_ , and more than that, Mizuki gone after the one person who'd brought light into Naruto's life when he thought he had none. Someone who gave him hope.

"Especially," Naruto's voice was icy, "Since he acted completely normal and stable around everybody save for the three of us. And he only targeted our friend _once_ for us to get to this point."

He didn't tell the Hokage exactly why they investigated Mizuki, nor how far the Chuunin had nearly gone. Hokage-jiji could figure it out for himself this time.

Nobody touched Naruto and Usagi's family and got away with it unscathed. Not in a billion years.

"We did some background research on him," said Naruto, after taking a deep breath, and the Hokage raised an eyebrow. "I may have convinced one of the ANBU captains to let me see his file, too," he admitted "and Usagi talked to his ex-girlfriend Tsubaki about how he acted, to try and get more information. It wasn't until after Usagi and I searched his apartment that we discovered he'd come into contact with Orochimaru on the same mission that gave him the Chuunin promotion. Both of his teammates were killed when they ran into the legendary Snake Summoner, but according to reports, he wasn't even really injured? It looked _really_ bad."

And to every seasoned shinobi in the room, that made perfect sense. Even Iruka-sensei had probably thought it was suspicious and Naruto knew the Hokage would probably be kicking himself for overlooking that. That, or they were understaffed or the civilian council intervened.

He wouldn't put it past them to try and screw him and Usagi over.

Usagi nodded "So we dug a little further, because Naruto thought he might have ties to Orochimaru or some kind of memory seal. We were right-he was a traitor. In his office, he kept a few files on hand he was developing of every child in the Academy, especially a detailed one on Uchiha Sasuke, our classmate." The Hokage's eyes narrowed "We have reason to believe Orochimaru is after the Uchiha for his eyes' powers, but I digress. He also had a few letters detailing his correspondence with Orochimaru, one of which was half-finished in the same locked and stupidly sealed file cabinet."

"Stupidly?" the Hokage raised an eyebrow at that, and Naruto flushed a little.

Usagi smirked "Nobody can break seals like a Namikaze-Uzumaki can, Hokage-jiji." She winked at Naruto, who hid a grin as he watched Iruka-sensei's mouth fall open in shock. "We stole his original letters, and sealed them away, leaving copies of everything. After studying the letters it became obvious what he was after, though it was sickening to find. Some of the Academy students that have gone missing over the past five years can be credited to Mizuki-teme," she grimaced "He was always a little unstable, according to Tsubaki-san, but more so after he met up with Orochimaru."

And that was why Tsubaki-san had ended their relationship so quickly after the incident, not that Usagi would ever tell anyone else why. Mizuki-teme was also an abusive piece of shit, and Naruto would gladly wipe his hands completely clean of the bastard when he could.

"His most recent letter from Orochimaru detailed a plan to steal the Scroll of Sealing itself," Naruto continued, his blush fading. Usagi really did think more highly of his skills than she should. "He was instructed to only go after it if he thought he could do it-Orochimaru didn't want to alert the village to what he was up to. Mizuki-teme couldn't resist the opening Usagi and I gave him, and the chance to achieve such power. After we figured out how to do it, we tempted him with the chance to retrieve the Scroll of Sealing and put all of the blame on the two of us."

No need to tell the Hokage they'd also ransacked Mizuki-teme's apartment and found a Namikaze heirloom Mizuki couldn't use squirreled away inside a scroll. Naruto didn't know how Mizuki had gotten his hands on it, but he'd taken it way too far by trying to take Naruto's inheritance away.

Once they had access to the clan compound, they'd have to make sure no other heirlooms were missing, since clearly Namikaze Minato's protections had failed to keep the teme out. That, or Mizuki-teme had had inside help from another Namikaze, which Naruto didn't really believe, whereas Usagi was more suspicious.

Minato had been the last Namikaze, to the best of his knowledge. Naruto _was_ the last Namikaze, now, the last one carrying that blood and the last one carrying the Namikaze gifts. Unless he had a cousin out there somewhere that the duo didn't know about, they were it for the Yondaime's remaining family.

Usagi nodded, "We worked out a way to trick him into stealing the Scroll. I didn't expect him to intentionally disrupt our Genin exams with Genjutsu and chakra-suppressing seals to force _us_ in particular to steal it, but we can get past the ANBU and have shown that in our pranks, and he can't. We also acted stupid enough to give him an easy target if he wanted to take it out on us."

Naruto agreed, "All we did was make it seem like we could pull it off, and asked a few questions about the Scroll in class-specifically, Usagi asked where it was kept, and whether other villages had one too when it was mentioned by Iruka-sensei. The opportunity must have been too good for him to pass up, in his mind. Then his own greed betrayed him."

He knew what they'd done was very illegal, but they'd also done it to expose a traitor to the Leaf. They'd pulled pranks before to get back at people, but this was different, and both of them knew it. But Mizuki had betrayed their home, the only place in the world where they were even remotely safe, and the only place where the kids could grow up without any outside intervention.

Namikazes and Uzumakis were hunted down without remorse or pity in the outside world, and Usagi with her gifts would be taken away from Naruto the minute they entered another village without affiliations with Konoha. Naruto would be killed, captured, or experimented on for having 'demonic' power on sight, or worse, he would be poisoned for being a Namikaze.

And Konoha was the only place their children thought of as home.

It would be a long, hard fight for acceptance here, but they weren't giving up on a place that their children loved so much just yet. This place had a kind of hidden beauty, and the people here were innocent-they may have been blind, blinded by their hatred and their greed, but they were still _innocent_ at heart. Kurama could see that, if none of their other children could.

And it was that innocence and that lack of knowledge these people had about the real Namikaze-Uzumaki-Tsukino family that provided its own form of protection.

It was Usagi who had seen the need for a new leader, the need to manipulate circumstances just so, so that Naruto and Usagi could come out into the open with their _powerful_ family and take control of the village back from the civilian and shinobi council. Naruto and Usagi had stayed up very late working on their plans to reform Konoha, and this was another step on the way towards achieving that goal.

They had to make this village safe for their family, and they would, because Suzume, Kurama, and Shingo all called Konohagakure no Sato home.

Sarutobi cleared his throat "Yes-and you understand what you did was in no way legal, am I correct?" Both Naruto and Usagi nodded. "Why would you go so far, Naruto? Usagi? From what I understand, you have no reason to love this village."

And here was where they'd have to pull out all the stops to convince him that was the truth. While Naruto and Usagi held no love for the village as a whole, just a select number of people in it, they had to be sure that the Hokage wanted to please _them_ , to keep them in the village by any means possible.

To the Hokage, that had to mean keeping them together.

Usagi was powerful, and if she seemed like she could help Naruto come to love the village more, he would keep them together. Likely as not, if she wanted to be assigned as Naruto's partner, Usagi would have to display more naïveté and less of her true self, donning a small piece of her 'Princess Serenity' mask.

Naruto would then naturally be the one to hesitate about staying in this place, maybe even sound bitter about it. Perhaps giving them a third, intelligent teammate would help even things out a bit, too-like Nara Shikami. Shikami was the only other girl in their graduating class, aside from Hinata, who seemed more intelligence-oriented than the others, who were all fan girls.

All of them needed to be whipped into shape, but some needed far less work than others.

"You're wrong, jiji-san," said Usagi with a smile, bright enough to surprise him. "There's plenty to love about it. People are greedy when they lose sight of what's truly important." She took a deep breath "My own family fell prey to that a long time ago."

And she had left the Sailor Senshi when she found out.

Naruto reached down and squeezed her hand gently, feeling their emotions connect as he brushed their chakras together.

She squeezed back, smiling, as Naruto finished "If you can't understand a place, then you can't rule it. From what I understand, the civilian council doesn't understand the village they rule anymore, and the shinobi council is little better. The shinobi council is blinded by grief and fear, and the civilian council is filled with petty, greedy people trying to take the Hokage's power for their own ends. But with all that, she sees there is still good here."

The Hokage raised an eyebrow in surprise, "And what would you have me do about it, Naruto? We aren't exactly in a position of power to change that."

Naruto steeled himself to tell a partial truth "Hokage-sama, if I had my way I would have left this village with our kids and Usagi years ago," he said bluntly. "If I didn't believe we would have been hunted down and brought back by the ANBU, I would have convinced Usagi to bring Shingo, Kurama, and Suzume with us to wander when we were both eleven and strong enough to protect ourselves."

The Hokage flinched almost imperceptibly at that.

They wouldn't really have gone that far. Akako, Momoko, Yuri, Chouko, Yosuke, Yami, and Hinagiku all adored the whole group, after all, and would have helped them flee. But there was no need for the Hokage to know about the dancers.

"It was Usagi who convinced me we might have a chance here," said Naruto, squeezing her hand gently for show. "I don't make decisions on my own, jiji; you know that. She pointed out a few…key aspects of the village that I had overlooked, namely _why_ they all chose to hate me and _what_ they were doing, and what we could do to change it. The idealistic child that I would have been, if I was loved as my parents wanted me to be, is gone, but I haven't lost all of my hope." He smiled at Usagi "She believes this place still has some good in it, and Usagi is always right."

Embarrassment mixed with overwhelming happiness flooded their link as Usagi turned pink, shaking her head, "I wouldn't have seen anything in this village to begin with if not for you, Naruto. You made me think, back when we had our first argument about leaving the village. I had to find a good reason to make you stay,"

"You asked me to observe, when we had our first argument about leaving, to try and find a reason for you to stay when everyone hated you," they both turned back to Sarutobi, smiling. "And as much as I wanted to hate this village for what it did to Naruto, I couldn't hate everyone for-well, being _human_. I couldn't hate the Academy teacher that treated us both fairly, despite his uncertainties, or the ANBU that protected us and taught us how to protect ourselves. Or the people who helped a few starving orphans find their way to an old apartment building to sleep in. Or even the few people I knew were starving but still shared their meager food with us to keep us alive one more day. I find it very easy to hate those that can't tell the seal from the kunai inside it," she growled "But not the people who don't know any better, and who are just trying to make their way in the world."

The Sandaime's eyes softened as he looked at Usagi, and Naruto felt his triumph echoed through the bond they were currently sharing. Some of this was true, but some of it wasn't, and would keep the civilian council from interfering if the Hokage believed them.

Clearly, if they were able to fool the Hokage, they were doing something right.

Naruto knew he had only a few bonds here, and very few reasons to stay in the village but for now, it was enough. The relationship he had with his family was everything he'd ever hoped it would be, and more, with how everything had fallen out. And everyone that knew who he really was honestly liked him.

Except for his relationship with the blond standing at his side.

He would never push it that far, though he absolutely _adored_ her. Sure, Usagi loved to play around a little, and flirt with him for fun, but there was no way she was interested in having a boyfriend. Especially not him.

Though there was something to be said about her being the only person in the world who interested him in that way, _and_ she'd agreed to getting dinner with him alone later when his clone had brought it up. He still wished he'd asked her himself, but Naruto had no idea what she thought of him, and he was expecting her to let him down. Somehow.

She would let him down gently, but she didn't, she _couldn't_ feel that way about him.

Sarutobi's smile was sad "I had wondered, Naruto. And I am sorry that I failed you," he bowed his head regretfully. "You are right. The civilian council has too much power, and _that_ needs to be changed."

Naruto wanted the Hokage to be motivated to _fix_ his mistakes, not just apologize for them, but the apology was a start. He ignored Usagi's curious gaze from his side, trying to push his nerves out of his mind.

Sarutobi cleared his throat "You know who your parents are, I take it?"

"Yes," said Naruto firmly, "I am Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto," he added, when Sarutobi's eyebrows rose in disbelief. "Son of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina, each the last of the Uzumaki and Namikaze clans. I am also the standing Clan Head of Clan Uzumaki and Clan Namikaze, both of whom have seats on the shinobi council."

Iruka's soft gasp filled the silence that followed.

Naruto cleared his throat "Jiji, this village is only my home for however long my precious people _call_ it home," Sarutobi's eyebrows went up. "We were children, Hokage-jiji. Konoha itself is not home-it might have potential, and there may be good people here, but it is not home. That does not make it home to me." He paused, reaching for the words "Have you ever heard of anyone calling people, instead of a place, home?"

The Sandaime's eyes widened, and after a moment, he chuckled. "Yes. Your father said the same to me; he said this village was his home because his precious people called it home." He eased a little, "I understand that you, Usagi, have a bond with this village."

He'd taken the very obvious bait, and not only that, Naruto's brief brush over his chakra showed he wasn't suspicious. Sarutobi-jiji didn't even notice he was doing it.

That, or the Hokage was letting them play this game, but Naruto doubted they'd have gotten away with it if Sarutobi was suspicious.

"I can't step up here the way I could have in my old home," said Usagi quietly, "But yes, there is-light here, and the potential for peace." She grimaced "Not with the current political situation, though. Maybe if the civilian council had less power I would have something of a voice, as the one with the most divine chakra in Konoha."

Sarutobi got the underlying message, though; _while I love this village, I don't have the power to change it like Naruto does. That has to change_.

Sarutobi nodded "Very well. In light of recent events, am I to understand that you trained the two of them?" he directed this at Ketsueki.

Ketsueki chuckled "That's what I'm here for, Hokage-sama." The Hokage frowned, and he elaborated. "You forget why I came to this village in the first place."

Curiously, Ketsueki wasn't lying, but this was the first both of them had heard of this 'reason' of his. Usagi and Naruto both looked at Ketsueki, surprised, and Naruto cast out his sensory net over him a little more deeply this time. Just like usual, there was that intense, fire-blue chakra that licked at his senses-there. _There_.

That was not possible. Naruto _knew_ he was the last of the Namikaze clan, the _last_ of who could have that chakra, and yet Ketsueki-he-he had _hyper chakra_. He had the _Namikaze chakra_. That wasn't possible, but somehow- _it was_.

"That's cheating, otoutou," Ketsueki chided, patting his shoulder with an audible grin. "Yes," he directed at the Hokage "I did train them. And I still do. The civilian council can kiss my ass."

Iruka managed to stammer "H-how? I mean-obviously you are able to, taichou," he said "But I thought you were still in ANBU."

Ketsueki snorted "Nope. But I don't blame you for that; I don't usually take my mask off unless I'm asked, sorta like Kakashi-baka," he said, sounding like he was grinning cheerily at Iruka. "Hokage-sama, I understand you would like to test them both individually, but I would say they could be a working two-man Chuunin cell as they are right now, since I know the civilian council will throw a hissy fit if they make Jounin straight out of the Academy. That being said, each of them is A-rank working alone, and together I believe they could take down an entire horde of B-ranked demons."

Sarutobi frowned, and so did Naruto, who'd been hoping he could skate by on uncovering a traitor.

"The civilian council won't like that," Naruto pointed out. "You know they'll do anything to keep me in the Academy and under their thumbs."

That seemed to decide the mood of the room. Iruka's in particular, though; Naruto felt his chakra shift to determination after a flare of _white hot_ anger coursed through him. It was surprising-not many people had gotten angry on either of their behalf before. And certainly not for such a reason as this.

Usagi's anger was almost palatable in comparison, but it was quickly squashed underneath _approval_ and several warm feelings directed Iruka's way. Of course, she would never admit them on her face, but the Chuunin had just earned her respect, if he didn't have it already.

Iruka spoke up "Hokage-sama, I chased Mizuki, and Naruto and Usagi's chakra signatures out of Konoha. When I caught up to them, I heard Mizuki telling them both that Naruto was the demon fox, breaking the law. Both of them vanished, making a run for it after that." He paused "Were you two under Genjutsus of some kind? You were both wearing your jumpsuits then."

Usagi grinned at Naruto, who grinned right back. They could trust Iruka. Not the rest of the ANBU that had been sent out earlier, who'd probably be getting lessons from Fox in how to treat people, or most of the village, but Iruka? Naruto had heard everything he'd said about the fox, and Iruka-sensei deserved their trust.

"Ah, right," Usagi explained, "That's-uh, a variant on one of Naruto's clan techniques."

"It's a…special type of Genjutsu," Naruto hedged, trying to avoid answering directily. "It's a Namikaze clan technique, from the period of the Warring Clans. I'm not sure which of us developed it originally, but it's based on an advanced type of Fuuinjutsu that will probably kill a normal shinobi to try to use for a long period of time because of the chakra requirement. I've been trying to adapt some for Usagi's brother, but so far the only way he can charge them is to have one of us charge them first. With enough chakra, the Genjutsu will last for at least a month; running on divine chakra it lasts for three, demonic for three, and hyper chakra makes it last for six. A mixture at the source makes it last for at least a year."

Sarutobi nodded, and Iruka's eyes widened "Incredible," he said, smiling and shaking his head "I would never have guessed seals could do that."

"Seals can do anything, Iruka-sensei," said Naruto, chuckling. "Master the basics and the more advanced techniques, and let your imagination run wild."

"Naruto," Ketsueki was usually silent, but not this time, as he was genuinely curious, "Does that mean you are a seals master?"

Naruto was suddenly aware of everyone staring at him but Usagi, who knew he'd achieved what would be considered mastery when he was twelve. He wasn't about to let them know how he'd reached it-the Kage Bunshin trick was _really_ useful, and unlike Usagi he had a near-unlimited amount of them he could train with. Though her chakra capacity was catching his, she usually focused on kidou and houhou, leaving him the Fuuinjutsu.

That didn't mean they didn't teach each other, though.

"Yes," he could explain the more complex reason as to why, but he didn't want to. "I would have to be tested to achieve a rank, but yes, with the time I've spent studying the subject, I am a seals master."

Iruka frowned "That's not possible," he said, "That takes _decades_ of study-physically, you can't do that."

Naruto raised an eyebrow "Iruka-sensei, do you know why I _still_ can't perform the Bunshin, despite it being the easiest jutsu that requires the least chakra?" Iruka shook his head. "I'm an Uzumaki, a Namikaze, _and_ a Jinchuuriki. I've got way, _way_ too much chakra to ever have the control necessary for a Bunshin. If I tried the Bunshin at all during my last exam, the year before this one, instead of failing at the hand-seals, I would've blown half the Academy sky high. And that's with _normal_ chakra. The kami help us if I touched any of the extra chakra I have."

Iruka's eyes went wide for a moment "So you-oh. _Oh_ , I am an idiot," the teacher grimaced, shaking his head. "The curriculum is designed for children without much chakra. Of _course_. I should have seen it sooner."

Usagi nodded "That's why I have so much trouble with it, too." Iruka frowned, opening his mouth to ask why "I have divine chakra, sensei. Reiki. I have more of it than I do regular chakra, and reiki is hyper-condensed and much more difficult to control, somewhat like demonic chakra. And they're pushing against each other-kind of like Naruto and the fox's chakra and his hyper chakra-so my chakra grows exponentially, just like his."

Iruka smiled, rueful "I wish I'd known about this sooner. The curriculum isn't designed for children with massive chakra stores. Come to think of it, there are a few students in Akemi's classes struggling with that jutsu, most of them from shinobi families."

Usagi grinned "Let me guess, my brother is one of them?" Iruka nodded, "That sounds about right. Shingo has quite a bit of reiki as well, but not as much as I do. It makes control difficult when both your reiki and chakra stores are trying to increase at similar rates. Eventually I'm sure it'll even out, but until then it plays merry hell with your chakra control."

Naruto added "We've been using the Namikaze chakra control techniques to help him, and it usually works, but-it _is_ possible to pass by creating different types of Bunshin than a regular Bunshin, right?"

Iruka nodded "The rule was instituted after the Third Shinobi World War," he explained "to keep students from overextending themselves and giving themselves chakra exhaustion. It can be dangerous for children."

"I understand that," said Naruto, "but until I did some research I didn't even realize it was possible to pass by using, say, a Tsuchi Bunshin or a Mizu Bunshin instead of a regular Bunshin. Maybe state that explicitly, and offer alternate lessons for kids having trouble with chakra control?" he suggested. "Having too much chakra is just as bad as having too little."

Iruka nodded, though he looked a little sad "I can't help but feel like I should've noticed. I _know_ you two; I know you're not that bad at chakra control. But-how did you manage Kawarimi and Henge, without having it blow up in your faces?"

The Hokage cleared his throat, "I recall Tobirama-sensei invented a version of the Henge that was solid, but was never able to use it properly. Was it solid?"

Naruto nodded "I was frustrated one day that it wasn't working and pumped in a lot more chakra than I should have. It worked, and when I realized it worked, I taught Usagi because we were both having trouble with it."

Sarutobi nodded "That's an A-ranked Kinjutsu that you both learned," Naruto and Usagi stared at him, stunned. "It's called the Kage Henge, and is a true transformation, but requires a lot of chakra to safely hold. Tobirama-sensei also recommended against transforming your mass into something much smaller without possessing a healing factor."

Naruto and Usagi exchanged a stunned look, and in that moment both realized what they'd done was not a _human_ thing. They could transform, fully transform with no repercussions and no strain on their body. _I won't tell if you won't,_ Naruto was saying silently, and when they both nodded, turned their attention back to the Academy curriculum.

"Hokage-sama, as we are able to perform several different forms of clone jutsu, and that was really the only reason we couldn't pass, are we now Genin?" asked Usagi.

The Hokage chuckled "I was hoping to speak with you two about that. For now, I will rank you both as Genin of Konoha, but this weekend, before teams meet and begin doing missions on Monday, I wanted to test your abilities to give you a sense of your overall rank."

"Saturday is registration day for the next term at the Academy, and I'm pretty sure Me-chan would be sad we missed it," said Naruto. "But we can come to be tested Sunday."

"I'd like to watch, if that's not a problem," Iruka said, "and I'm sure the kids you were referring to would like to attend, too."

"True. And imoutou-chan would be pretty upset with us if we missed that day," she glanced at Naruto with raised eyebrows.

He hesitated, because he always did; they wouldn't see much, really, unless they were watching from his perspective later. But Naruto had also promised that when he became a shinobi and took a ranking exam of any kind, they could come and watch. Kurama would just have to keep his Sharingan deactivated or they'd have a problem keeping his existence a secret from Sasuke. And the Uchiha was arrogant enough that Usagi and Naruto didn't want to have to deal with him on a regular basis anyway, even _without_ him knowing they had one of his cousins around.

"They'd love to," Naruto said, deciding it was time to just put it out there, and foregoing the teammate discussion for later. "How about we think about the team assignments, jiji? And maybe wait on assigning us until you've seen us in action."

"We're old enough, and once we leave the village it's going to be pretty obvious," Usagi pointed out. "Everything demonic in about half a mile will want to kill both of us for how powerful and dangerous we are. Especially me."

Naruto shook his head, "I know. I just really don't want to go through the political headache this is sure to start with the civilian council," he grimaced, "and half the shinobi council."

"It's been a long time coming, otoutou," said Ketsueki firmly, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Besides, I'm going to be there. What could possibly-"

"Do not," chorused Usagi and Naruto "Finish that sentence, nii-chan." Usagi added "Every time you do, we both end up in the _weirdest_ situations. Please, don't."

Ketsueki sounded like he was pouting when he said "Aww, you two are no fun."

Naruto just sighed "Ketsueki-nii, if you remember, the last time you said that somehow I ended up in ANBU headquarters and had a pack of rabid squirrels after my chips. Chips that I had bought for Ku-otoutou only half an hour beforehand. In the same week, the break-in rate at my old apartment tripled and we had so many prisoners in T&I that we had to clean up the place, it was so bloody. All of it was by hand, too or we would've messed up the seals we laid down."

"And that's nothing compared to what happened when we tried to go hunting," Usagi added with a shudder.

They had ended up attracting an A-class demon that lived on the village outskirts, which then promptly tried to _eat_ Usagi alive from behind, after knocking out Naruto. That had been _really_ difficult to deal with, which meant they both had a long ways to go, but working in a team the demon was much more easily dealt with.

Ketsueki held up his hands "Okay, okay, fine, I'm done."

"I imagine that was fun," said Iruka weakly, "Does that really happen every time he says that?"

"Everyone's luck goes down the tubes if you have Namikaze blood and say that," said Naruto, rolling his eyes at Ketsueki. "Ketsu-nii knows that and he still says it. So, what training ground do you want to meet in?"

"How about 35?" suggested Sarutobi "I'll bring several Jounin to test the both of you, and it's far enough from the village that the chakra spikes will be seen as normal. Usagi, are you a seals master as well, or are we only testing one of you?"

Usagi hesitated, glancing at Naruto. They both knew they were _both_ seals masters, but he was better at it than she was and she was still working on barriers and defensive sealing. She was better at that than the random seals Naruto invented to just _do anything_ with because she didn't have an intuitive grasp of it like he did. But by the same token learning any Kenjutsu was much harder for him, and so they'd taught each other what they could since they met.

She asked silently _Truth or lie?_

Naruto raised an eyebrow; _truth, or we're going to be screwed over by it later. We have to be honest about most of our abilities or they will never trust us enough._

 _True. I'll go first._

"Yes," said Usagi, turning back to Sarutobi "I'm better at different aspects of it and I use a different sealing style than most of the masters here, but yes, I am a Seals Master as well."

"What level would you grade Naruto's sealing work at? Naruto, what level would you say Usagi is?" Sarutobi asked, leaning forward and folding his hands, so his chin was resting on them.

Usagi was easily a Level Four, maybe a Level Five out of Ten on the Uzumaki scale, but on the Namikaze scale she was somewhere around a mid-level seals master, also known as a Tora. (Byakko being the highest, which Naruto hadn't quite reached). He didn't know where he, himself ranked but he was pretty sure they were about even. And that was discounting her reiki seals.

"I would say…using the Uzumaki scale, he's about an Eight." Naruto fought to keep his expression impassive, but he was stunned. Naruto had been sure his own skill only measured up to a Seven at the most. Usagi explained "He has an intuitive understanding of the art and is very good at trusting his intuition; he makes leaps and fills in gaps where creating seals that I couldn't possibly understand. It's like he was born to master the art."

Well, then he had better be truthful with her.

"Discounting her reiki and miko sealing, Usagi is a level Five," said Naruto, "on the Uzumaki scale. Using miko sealing techniques and their brand of Fuuinjutsu is much easier for Usagi, so solely based on that branch I would say she is a Seven, but overall she's a Five because there are some intricacies she hasn't studied yet of the other branches."

Sarutobi nodded "I will be recalling our other seals master to test both of you and will let you know when that time arrives. Is that all?"

Naruto and Usagi shook their heads. "No, Hokage-sama," said Usagi, "You've contracted us to do internal missions, testing the defenses of the village and the clan compounds with pranks," the Hokage nodded. "As Tsuki and Shinku. We'd like to continue with that-tricking our enemies into thinking we have more seals masters than we do."

Naruto picked up where she left off "Tsuki and Shinku can be the names you know us by while we are being tested and the like. This way, you can prove we only _publicly_ achieved Genin rank, and this way we can also manipulate the civilian council; after all, I'm pretty sure whoever Ketsueki-nii's civilian identity is, isn't named _Ketsueki_."

Ketsueki chuckled "No, and Hokage-sama, this is genius. After all, I think Fox would really enjoy the chance to tutor Usagi, even if she's just passing as Tsuki. We could even make them unofficial ANBU partners."

The Hokage frowned "Yes, but would that affect the way you are seen in the village? By making your masks-oh," he stopped "You want to do the same thing Ketsueki is doing?"

"We do," said Naruto, and to his surprise he received a warm smile.

"Then I would ask you are tested as Tsuki and Shinku, instead of as Naruto and Usagi," he said. "To separate your shinobi and ANBU personas." He stood, and pulled out a small scroll from his desk drawer, before opening it. "Now, I believe there is something else I have yet to do. Register you both as shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato."

Naruto glanced at Usagi in surprise; Usagi shrugged. Apparently the knowledge of Kage Bunshin was enough to get them to pass, and the Hokage knew they both knew several infiltration jutsu.

"Your testing for your true ranking among the shinobi of Konoha will be set for Sunday at 8am in Training Ground Thirty-Five," continued Sarutobi, as he bit his thumb and unsealed something from the scroll. "Is there any time for you two to take a private version of the written test tomorrow?"

Naruto and Usagi nodded; "We can stay after tomorrow. Since we just have team assignments tomorrow, that should be easy," Naruto explained. "The kids have their final exams for the year tomorrow and the entrance exam for Me-chan, so she'll be happy to see us there."

Sarutobi smiled, and lifted up two hitai-ates from his desk. One of them had a short, black strap and the other a short, dark green strap. He held them out to Naruto and Usagi.

"For your efforts in exposing the traitor Mizuki," Sarutobi continued "I will instate you as Genin Apprentices of Konohagakure no Sato under Ketsueki Ookami. There is also one last problem; the number of graduates we have this year is slightly skewed if you remain a two-man cell. There will be an odd man out."

Naruto and Usagi glanced at each other in surprise, and then back to the Hokage "Really?" Usagi asked. "I thought we were the only two left out."

Sarutobi nodded "You recall the Nara prodigy?"

They both nodded; Nara Shikami spent most of the time she was in class reading a book or something similarly related to the shinobi arts. She had also figured out their 'masks' were really masks when they were both about nine, and then swore herself to secrecy. They hadn't been as close with her as they'd have liked to be, but she'd been graduated early and taken on as an apprentice under her uncle, Shikaku Nara. She was smarter than the clan heir, Shikamaru, and that was _without_ her shinobi skills coming into the equation.

Shikami would be a force to be reckoned with, given a few months' training with Naruto and Usagi.

"She would like to join you," he continued, which was a real surprise. "Her sensei is retiring, and though he is very good at teaching, she really wants to work with both of you. She requested it of me personally to ask you."

Shikami was the _only_ person their age they would even consider working with, and both of them knew it. Naruto and Usagi hadn't brought her in on all of their plans, but she had been both of their _extremely loyal_ friend since she was nine, sworn to secrecy as she was, and they usually wrote letters to one another. Or sometimes she babysat for them when she was done training under Uzuki Yuugao.

If they had their way, she'd be the leader of ANBU under both of them when Naruto became Hokage and Usagi took on the position of the clan head and head medic. Shikami'd probably been keeping an eye on the Academy, but she hadn't warned them she was going to pull _this_.

Naruto and Usagi glanced at each other _Talk to her?_

 _Seems like she just really doesn't want to lose us,_ Usagi replied.

 _I know. Unlike us she really is more of a fourteen year old,_ agreed the hanyou _but she's also the only person I'd ever consider being in a four-man cell with. Least until we fix that stick up the Uchiha's ass._

 _Well, if we team with her, we don't have to hide while we're training,_ pointed out Usagi, _and bringing her home to introduce is going to be fun,_ she added. _You know Suzume looks up to her and Kurama might actually have a crush on her, too, which is just adorable._

 _I know, I know,_ grumbled Naruto, _it'll just put her in danger._

 _She wants it,_ Usagi argued back; _she's the perfect foil to both of us. I'm the moon, you're the sun, and she's the twilight. She fits, and we both know it. This doesn't change our plans, does it?_

 _No…in fact, it might just help us further them,_ Naruto smiled slowly. _You're a genius._

Usagi grinned "Shikami Nara is the only person our age we might _consider_ teaming up with, jiji. Though we're going to have to kick her ass later for not telling us this sooner."

Hiruzen chuckled "It was my impression that she's sick of working with whoever she had to work with last time. She knows about you two?"

Usagi nodded "She figured us out a few years ago. She's _good,_ and she's a very loyal friend."

Not to mention she was almost family, given how few close friends they actually had.

"Which is why we want to work with her and not anyone else," finished Naruto, "It'll keep the council off our backs, too, since she's the prodigy, not the clan heir."

The Hokage smiled, nodding "Then if you don't mind sharing your sensei, she will be relieved to hear it. Her aunt is pushing for her to make Chuunin but to do that she would need a team to take the exams with."

Usagi chuckled "Not at all. She's the only person we know outside our little group who spars with us on a regular basis."

" _And_ she's a technical genius, which we need," Naruto added with a grin "Ketsu-nii knows how she works and how she fights; he trains her pretty often alongside us. Adding someone we don't trust or know to our group would be hard, but adding her would be a good idea. We can trust her to have our backs."

Shikami had another type of chakra as well-one rarely seen in humans. _Null_ chakra, also known as _void_ chakra, which was capable of creating the 'void' that most felt instead of chakra. She rarely used it, outside of sparring with them, but it made her _very_ good at keeping pace with them when they fought.

She still couldn't quite keep pace with the blondes, but she did her best, which was all they asked for. And she was extraordinarily loyal, so much so that they had considered giving her full 'membership' of their small family several times, but held off in case the council took note of her wandering around with a planetary sigil.

Usagi had even talked with Naruto about making her their 'vassal' of sorts, and that was not something she would consider for any other human being. Not after her betrayal.

"Make that _we do_ trust her," corrected Usagi. "She's one of the smartest people we know, and the most trustworthy person our age in this village. Her cousin Shikamaru is good, but she's _better_."

Usagi and Naruto were good. Shikami, Naruto, and Usagi together, though, were _better_. And coming from Usagi, that was huge-because Usagi knew even Mizuno Ami's intelligence was dwarfed by Shikami's, if only because Shikami knew what she was doing and actively chose to be _different_ instead of going with the crowd.

She didn't look at first impressions and judge based solely on those, a failing Ami had never really gotten over, from what Naruto had heard.

"But we need Ketsueki-nii, or we're going to have to fire our sensei," the duo finished together.

Sarutobi chuckled, smiling at them as he released the silence sealing array on the office. "Very well, I will take your requests into consideration. And now I welcome you into our ranks as Genin of Konoha. Wear your hitai-ate with pride. You've earned it."

Usagi picked up the dark green hitai-ate and tied it around her forehead, and Naruto did the same with his. He turned to Usagi with a smile on his face, and almost immediately pulled off his gloves, socks, and hood, sealing them into the seal on his belt. Usagi did the same, adding her white mask to the belt. They kept their half-masks on, though.

"Iruka-sensei," said Naruto, turning to him "If you'd like to walk with us, I can explain what we meant earlier about the kids."

"S-Sure, Naruto," said Iruka, smiling at him "I'm very proud of you. Both of you." He said this loudly enough that the receptionist could hear as they walked out of the Hokage's office.

This left Ketsueki Ookami alone in the office with the Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. Ketsueki wasn't showing it, but he was nervous. He was probably going to be blamed for some of the weird events that'd happened the last time he said that dreaded phrase, even though he hadn't realized there was a correlation until the kit and kitten pointed it out to him. That, and he honestly did not want to explain everything to the Hokage-nor was he allowed to, unless he was under threat of undergoing interrogation.

Besides, all the bad things happened to Namikazes anyway. Him included.

When the door swung shut, the Hokage reactivated the privacy seals, and ordered "Ketsueki Ookami, remove your mask, please."

Hiruzen had forgotten one thing. He was never one to obey without question.

"Why do you need me to?" He knew he had a form of immunity, and had some leeway with the Hokage, mostly because Naruto, his sensei's little Sunkit, trusted him so much.

That and he knew the Lady had Her hand on him.

"Because I would like to ask that you take up your unmasked identity," said Sarutobi. Ketsueki stared at him, "I know what you believe to be necessary to protect them, and we have an even number of Jounin to teach the teams this year. And you know wearing an ANBU mask is technically prohibited if you're a Jounin."

"Technically, it's Amaterasu-sama's symbol, and this is the Lady's mask, provided for one of Her own," Ketsueki said, trying to hide how his hands were shaking a little. He wasn't ready to reveal himself to people. "We just have to tell people that."

He thought he knew what the Hokage was implying, but he'd have to ask Ryuujin to be sure. The dragon nudged him, annoyance flooding him, and Ketsueki bit back a sigh.

Who was he kidding; Kenshin was hiding behind his mask, and he knew it.

The Hokage sighed "Ketsueki- _Kenshin_ ," he corrected himself, "I need to speak with you as Kenshin, and not as Ketsueki. Please, remove your mask."

Kenshin reached up and detached his hood, and both parts of his mask, flipping his long, spiky mess of hair out of the back of his shirt. He shook off the last of Amaterasu's Genjutsu, and looked up at the Sandaime Hokage with clear, blue eyes the same shade as Minato Namikaze's, complete with dark slits for pupils.

The mask had been hiding a face that was chiseled and hardened, both by war and protection of the people he found the most important to him. A long, painful-looking scar ran through his left eye, like it was supposed to be missing, crossed by another one; when the eye was closed it looked like a red, cross-shaped scar. His hair was about mid-back length and a mass of spikes that resembled some cross between Jiraiya of the Sannin's and Madara Uchiha's, flaring up in the front like Madara's did and falling to cover part of the Konoha hitai-ate he wore around his forehead. There were twin streaks of blond running from each of his temples down to the very ends of his hair, like lightning. And he was wearing the same type of shinobi mask that Kakashi, Naruto, and Usagi favored, hiding his nose and mouth, though just peeking above the tips of the mask were two red markings.

These markings signified his status as Amaterasu-sama's chosen warrior among the Kami and Her servant.

Kenshin hated being stared at. He really, really hated it. Given that he was supposed to be KIA, and had been years ago, he chose to wear his mask even while a Jounin, though he looked nothing like the boy that had died all those years ago. He'd bee returned to protect Naruto and Usagi. And Shikami, once he found her and realized she was their Twilight Guardian. He didn't want to be recognized, because then there would be a change in how people treated him, as well as forcing the Leech to adopt a new identity, _again_.

It was better to keep the Leech as it was.

But mostly, Kenshin couldn't face the survivors of his team, and tell them that he had somehow survived. No, that Amaterasu-sama had given him a chance, given him Her blessing and brought him back to life. Not until the last of them was found. Maybe then he would feel less guilty for missing both the first four years of Naruto's life and the Kyuubi attack, which had claimed more lives than he could count. He couldn't be the last one left, and he couldn't face them knowing what the Leech would use his shade for and his memories. They would never forgive him for failing like he had.

Not even the Sandaime Hokage knew the truth of his identity, and as Abarai Kenshin, at least he didn't feel like as much of a failure.

The Hokage smiled "That's better," he said, and Kenshin relaxed a little, realizing there was truly no one that could see him in here. Not that being seen was going to be a problem-he would just have to use a Genjutsu to avoid the crowds and the staring for his coloring. "Now, I need to know. What is your honest opinion of the team assignments?"

Kenshin blinked at him in surprise "I'm not supposed to know the team assignments," he wouldn't admit to doing anything illegal, either.

Hiruzen raised his eyebrows "And yet you already know who young Uchiha Sasuke's teammates are."

Kenshin smiled "Word gets around, and without Sunkit or Koneko to fill that spot, Inuzuka Kiba has the lowest grade in the class," he pointed out.

The Hokage rolled his eyes "Kenshin, for the sake of argument, pretend that I already know you peeked at my scrolls. I need to know what you think about the team assignments with the clan heirs. Teams Seven through Eleven."

"Eleven?" Kenshin raised an eyebrow "Mou, I wanted Kakashi-baka's team number." He raised a hand when the Hokage looked up, probably about to offer it to him. "Kidding, Sarutobi. I _know_ Team Seven is cursed. I'd like my Genin to _survive_ this go-round, and I like number Eleven. Reminds me of One."

Hiruzen stared at him "Remind me again why the honorable Megami-sama likes you so much?" he asked.

Kenshin grinned "I amuse her, really," he explained. "There are very few mortals that would dare threaten one of the High Kami for a chance to protect the people precious to them, and I impressed her with my loyalty and my devotion to them. She knows that as much as I am indebted to Her, I will protect my own first, like Her blessed wolves."

The Hokage sighed, shaking his head "Of course. You _would_ gain Her utmost respect for being yourself, Kenshin."

Kenshin chuckled, "You want my honest opinion? Kakashi-baka isn't cut out to teach, but he's doing better with the kids and he's even joined in training Sunkit and Koneko a few times. With Uchiha Obito's last known family, he'll do his best. At first, he's probably going to put them through teamwork training, and I'd like to suggest that we, as Jounin sensei, spar different teams against each other. Uchiha Sasuke is an arrogant little brat, but if he finds someone to look up to in Kakashi-baka and maybe Naruto, he'll get over himself. Haruno Sakura is a fan girl, and she used to _hit_ Naruto on her mother's orders," he spat, "She needs a serious wakeup call, or to get out of the shinobi lifestyle completely. I'll set Fox-taichou on her if need be. Inuzuka Kiba is a serious shinobi with a lot of potential, but he has both poor chakra control and is a brash, loud, sometimes-idiotic boy, so will probably strike up a rivalry with Sasuke once Sunkit declares Sasuke no longer worth his time as a rival."

Kenshin took a breath or two, and Hiruzen nodded "Continue."

"Team Seven will work, in theory, but I'm not sure how long it will last. You intended it to be a heavy assault team?" The Hokage nodded. "If Kakashi-baka takes my advice about teaching, he'll be able to whip them into shape to at least specialize in infiltration, if not heavy, frontline assault. Though the idiot has to get his head on straight, it helps to have Naruto, Usagi, and Shikami around for him to relax with. I swear, if he asks me one more time to remove my mask around him," grumbled Kenshin, before shaking his head.

"Team Eight," prompted the Hokage.

"Team Eight's members are more likely to pick up teamwork easily," explained Kenshin. "Hyuuga Hinata needs some confidence, but she's been inspired by Usagi already and with help, she will become a strong, heavy-assault Taijutsu expert. Aburame Shino needs to be given the opportunity to practice with the boys, and he will likely enjoy spending time with my team. However, he has the makings of a very good long-range support and tracking expert. Tsuchi Ami might be nearly as bad of a fan girl as Haruno, but she has the potential to become a very strong kunoichi if she trains seriously under Kurenai. It's a solid team, and though Kurenai is a relatively new Jounin, she will do a good job with them."

He skipped Team Nine, going straight to Team Ten "Then we have the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. Now, originally I'd have said for you to change this, since the formation is so well-known by our enemies, but I think they can breathe some new life into it. I _know_ Shikami respects Shikamaru's intelligence, even if he's not a prodigy by Nara standards, and he's already picked up his training with Shikami's encouragement. If he becomes the team leader, he'll excel, even if he's lazy, because all he needs is a good push. Yamanaka Ino is another bad fan girl, and will need to break that mentality before she can continue being a shinobi but using Usagi and Shikami to motivate her, and Haruno as well, will help. She will need additional training for close-quarters combat, just to throw the enemy off. Akimichi Chouji will also need to branch out if he wants to surpass his father, but he's got the potential and the willpower to do it. As long as your son does not just play shogi with his team all day, they will become a very strong team. Again, I would recommend joint training sessions, so they have some way to measure up each other's progress, help each other work together, and maybe even help Usagi and Naruto with their trust of their teammates."

Hiruzen smiled "And what is your opinion of the last one?"

Kenshin smirked. "To put it frankly, Hokage-sama, you've got no idea what you're in for if you group those three together. Kitten and Sunkit are bad enough as a pair, with all the trouble they cause and attract. Add in Raven and you have a recipe for a lot of explosions." He chuckled "But they'll make a great team."

He sobered "More to the point, Hokage-sama, I _know_ those three. Sunkit is the strongest person his age I know and with the Namikaze-Uzumaki gifts and his prisoner he's only going to get stronger with age. And I mean exponentially so. Naruto is a genius even by Nara standards, Hokage-sama; he was picking up chakra control exercises from me in a _snap_ , and it takes him under an hour to learn a technique, and two and a half hours to master it completely with the Kage Bunshin. He understands sealing intuitively and knows exactly what move you're making in a spar every time, unless you start changing up your style. At this age, he's at least A-rank in skill, and if he had more experience I'd put him somewhere around if not above Minato-oji's level when he was sixteen in terms of skill, and that's without any of the practice or the war we had back then."

The same age at which Minato-oji had invented the _Rasengan_ entirely from scratch.

The Hokage's pipe fell out of his mouth and clattered on the desk. Kenshin hadn't revealed everything, just enough to give Hiruzen an idea of just who he had asked to test on Sunday.

"He's really that good?" Hiruzen asked, stunned.

"He's that good," agreed Kenshin, "I have trouble keeping up some days, with all of his plans. He is an extremely hard worker, and though his nature makes it hard to avoid some sorts of traps he's getting better at evasion. With Usagi backing him, he has protection from everything that reacts to demonic or non-human chakra, since all of _those_ traps are powered by reiki. He _will be_ A-rank with enough experience and I'd say by the time he's my age he'll have invented a whole new class. Kitten is on the same level as Naruto, by sheer stubbornness alone I'd guess if she didn't have so much reiki in her body. That girl might seem like she's playing around, but Usagi's got enough power in her body to purify _everything_ in a five-mile radius if she's not reining it in. I still don't know how she controls that level of power, or where some of her purification spells come from," admitted Kenshin "But let me put it to you like this. I think she could stop _Kyuubi no Youko_ in a few years on her own. And that's without what I think is sitting at her core."

The pipe was smouldering on the desk, entirely forgotten as the Hokage stared at him "And her swordsmanship?"

"Exceptional, as is Naruto's," said Kenshin, smiling proudly "Naruto and Usagi took it upon themselves to train each _other_ , whenever they got stuck. I'm proud of them, and you would be too, if you'd seen it, Hiruzen. Every time they don't do well at something, they turn to each other, or to one of us ANBU to ask for help, and work out how to try it a different way. They do it with the kids, too, and Shikami picked it up from them after they shattered her knows-it-all mentality. They'll make _great_ teachers one day, and great parents."

Hiruzen smiled proudly "And Shikami?"

"Shikami's a little quieter, but I think she makes a good third element to add," Kenshin said after a moment. "Shikami is easily bored, unfortunately, but she's got the makings of a shinobi who can keep pace with both of them. It certainly wouldn't hurt their team dynamic to do some joint training, but Naruto and Usagi _can_ work with anyone. The difference is that they _trust_ Shikami. You know Shikami's skill, Hiruzen," Hiruzen nodded, "She is working under the hand of another of the Kami. Her divinely gifted power is nearly as strong as Usagi's reiki, and she's got control of it because of _Usagi_." And that was saying something, because it had been _hard_ work, and had resulted in a lot of swearing and several hospital trips for chakra exhaustion. "Shikami's the only person they trust to have their back as a good teammate. If you put them with anyone else, then you _will_ regret it, Hiruzen. The trust they share means another bond with the village, and Shikami has friends in the previous graduating class, too, when she deigned to take the test. Whoever you assign as their sensei needs to be someone they trust completely, or they will probably make the poor Jounin quit the shinobi corps entirely."

Kenshin knew he was playing it up, but he had to. Naruto and Usagi couldn't be separated and he _needed_ to train Shikami, because no one else would be able to help her understand just what was going on between her and the void. And if the Leech ever caught wind of Shikami, without him there, he wasn't sure it wouldn't try to eat her and then Shikami's powers would be copied by _it_.

And that would probably spell death for the three of them, since she was so powerful.

Hiruzen looked up at him, smiling in a way Kenshin didn't really like; "Very well. Kenshin, in agreement with your assessment, I want to assign _you_ as Naruto, Usagi, and Shikami's Genin cell sensei. You're their primary teacher as it is, even with Shikami apprenticing to Yuugao, and they'll listen to you. They trust you enough to call you nii-chan—and you and I both know how rare that is, coming from them."

Kenshin did. He just didn't know if he was going to be able to teach them all of what they need to know. He was a Namikaze, by blood, and beholden to Amaterasu. He didn't know just how close he was _allowed_ to get, even if he _had_ to keep the three of them safe in accordance with the rules. He could get as close as he needed to, to keep them safe, but was this really the best way?

Becoming their Genin cell sensei would also ensure that none of them were stuck with a Leech-influenced shinobi or someone who hated Naruto, Usagi, and Shikami for the fox or some other stupid slight. He could never trust little Sunkit, Koneko, or Raven to anyone else. He just couldn't trust that anyone else would train his team equally.

The problem was, would Amaterasu encourage this, or would he break some rule and unintentionally cause the whole game they were playing to be given away? Having the little Blessed Void Bearer on his team would only make things more complicated, but he liked the little Raven, and Raven she was despite her clan's association with deer. She was so much more _interesting_ than the rest of the Nara clan, so different to them and she needed his help, just like the rest of them.

Besides, Amaterasu-sama had ordered him to keep Her Brother's champion safe, too, even if it meant going against his original orders.

He couldn't risk the world for them, could he? Baka O- _Kenshin_ , he reminded himself. He'd sworn to it. He would do it if that was what it meant to keep them safe. He might not think he was a good teacher, but those three thought differently.

Often as not, he'd ask himself what his sensei would have done. Or his shishou. It usually worked.

Amaterasu-sama would understand.

" _ **You are allowed to, you know,"**_ rumbled Ryuujin, calming Kenshin's nerves, _**"And they would love for you to surprise them with this. You know more kidou from me than Usagi does from Hyakumei-chan, and you are very skilled in houhou as well. You understand what Naruto is going to go through with the awakening of his Namikaze bloodline, you understand sealing well enough to help him, and you can stop the fox if it tries to influence him. Shikami**_ _ **needs**_ _ **you, even if she never says anything, because she needs someone who doesn't treat her like a child genius but as an equal and a little sister. You practically adopted her when you took her under your wing, after Genkai decided to retire and when she was put under Yuugao. You**_ _ **know**_ _ **Usagi wanted to make you her knight at some point, and when it comes down to it, will you trust**_ _ **anyone**_ _ **else with your hatchlings, knowing what's out there?"**_

 _ **Hell no,**_ retorted Kenshin, surprising himself with the vehemence of that statement. _Okay then. Thanks for swatting me upside the head, Ryuu. I appreciate it._

" _ **Just don't do it so often that you're frozen when you need to move,"**_ teased back the dragon, warmth curling around his heart as the dragon curled around it more.

"Kenshin?" Kenshin blinked, looking at the Hokage "You've been very quiet. Do you want to accept?"

"I've wanted to teach them since shortly after I met them, and they knew it, which is why I've taught them this long," said Kenshin, chuckling and shaking his head. "I never thought I'd get the chance to teach them officially. _Hell yes_ I want to accept!" He grinned beneath his face-mask.

"It won't interfere with your mission?" he hadn't told Hiruzen the specifics of his kami-given mission, either, but that was because he wasn't allowed to talk about specifics of his mission.

He could hint at it, though. Kenshin thought he might as well throw the older man a tidbit of information about what he was here to do. It might help him in the long run, anyway.

Cheerfully, he replied "Nope, not at all! Helping teach them is helping me _fulfill_ my mission here, actually."

Hiruzen had frozen for a few scant seconds, staring at him with wide brown eyes and an open mouth. Then he moved, shifting scrolls around on his desk as he pulled out what looked like an old missive.

"Tell me," said Hiruzen quietly "does it have to do with the Prophecy of the Toad Sage?"

Kenshin had heard of this prophecy. It was the mortals' interpretation of a much greater part of the Lady's master scheme; that Jiraiya would one day teach the Prophesied Child. He would, there just wasn't anything about the gender or origins of this Prophesied Child.

"How much do you know about the prophecy?" countered Kenshin. Sarutobi didn't answer, and he explained himself "I can't give too much away; I'm not allowed to. It's part of my contract. You should ask Shinigami-sama when you next speak with him."

The Sarutobi clan had a rather unique bloodline limit; they were able to speak directly to the Shinigami in their dreams. Supposedly this had started out as a gift from the Death God when they prayed to him for the painless release of a child who would spend their whole life in pain, but Kenshin had only heard the rumors. What he did know of Shinigami-sama was that he was fair, and had _loved_ Minato-oji almost like his own grandson. Which was why the sealing had not only been successful but the alterations had been, as well.

Hiruzen smiled "I see. I won't press, then. I just wanted to be sure that asking this of you wouldn't interfere with your primary mission."

Hiruzen Sarutobi had a healthy respect for the kami, as was proper. Most of Konoha did, although for most of them Inari-sama was an exception. Kenshin always cleaned up Inari-sama's shrine when he could, because Kyuubi and Inari were not the same being, and though Kyuubi was a youko that didn't mean it was beholden to Inari. Even if Kyuubi no Youko was, the attack did not mean one could disrespect a goddess solely because her guardian had been forced into attacking Konoha.

Kenshin didn't want to think about just why the fox had been forced, but it had to do with his mission. The Leech's influence, _again_.

"It won't, Hokage-sama," said Kenshin, smiling beneath his mask. "I need to go prepare for tomorrow, if you don't mind? Unless there was something else you needed from me."

Hiruzen pondered this "If the kami have given you the secret to defeating paperwork, then _please_ , share," he pleaded.

Kenshin chuckled; it was the first time he'd been asked that directly, and all other times he'd skirted around it. But the village might be run more smoothly if someone sorted his paperwork and helped him with it.

Usagi and Naruto had made it very clear they needed the village to change, and this would be a good place to start.

"I know Shinigami-sama delegates to his most trusted officials," ventured Kenshin, and Hiruzen looked at him even more pleadingly. "But honestly, I have always wondered why you never used Kage Bunshin. They are basically a copy of you and when they dispel you get their memories."

There was a beat of silence.

Hiruzen pulled out a slip of paper that Kenshin could see clearly labeled with a red circle, inside of which were the words: BANG HEAD HERE.

The Hokage released the privacy seals "I will put Abarai Kenshin down as the Jounin sensei for Team Eleven, consisting of Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto, Tsukino Usagi, and Nara Shikami. You are dismissed-and thank you for the secret to beating paperwork!" he cried, looking years younger than he once had "Now maybe I can spend some time with my grandson this afternoon…"

Kenshin turned to leave, but hadn't made it two steps before he heard _bang_ - _bang -bang_ coming from the Hokage's desk. The Sandaime was banging his head against the circle on the desk, muttering to himself about how easy it was and how obvious and how he should have seen it sooner.

Hiding a laugh, Kenshin slipped out of the Hokage's office, re-sealing his mask into a storage scroll. He had a family to go meet, even if they were taking the long way around. And he had to relieve Kakashi before the poor man had a breakdown, because Satsuki might be there but she had a job to do. She couldn't help him watch three kids alone _and_ run ANBU.

Besides, he wanted some of their breakfast before he went to organize for having a Genin team. Usagi and Naruto could cook food worthy of being near-godly in terms of flavor alone because of their enhanced senses of smell and taste, and Naruto had inherited his mother's cooking skills and his father's inventiveness.

He was really looking forward to telling them all the good news.

 **Notes:**

 **Sunkit: Ketsueki's nickname for Naruto can be attributed to my spending way too much time reading Naruto fanfics. I saw this in one of them, not sure which one, and then it was repeated. I'm not sure which one it was from.**

 **Koneko: Japanese for "Kitten," this is Usagi's nickname. This one can be attributed to an Usagi/Minato fanfic I read a long time ago, but I can't remember the name. Regardless, thank you, many writers of crossovers, who inspired this.**

 **Reiki: Divine chakra. Usagi has almost as much of this as Naruto's yellow chakra and youki combined.**

 **Youki: Demonic chakra. You get where this comes from.**

 **Raven: Ketsueki's nickname for Shikami Nara, because she is very bird-like.**

 **Kudos to everyone who can spot the YYH references in this chapter!**

 **Hokage: Fire Shadow.**

 **Sandaime: The Third, or in context, 'Third Fire Shadow'. It's a title and is meant to be respectful.**

 **Ketsueki Ookami: Bloody Wolf; I translated this literally, and it has to do with his ANBU mask and his service to Amaterasu. I had a lot of fun with his character when I first created him and he's been involved in every fanfic about Naruto I failed at writing, all of which were poorly executed in comparison to this. But here you have Ketsueki, which is as close to his real name as you're ever going to get.**

 **All of the 'children' in this chapter are OCs, other than Shingo, so if you look for them in canon, you will not find them.**

 **So, is this too dark, or is this good?** **So, is this too dark, or is this good? What do you think? Next chapter is lighter and happier, I promise-and the third chapter also shows Naruto's and Usagi's softer side.**

 **And yes, you will meet Zume, Ku, and Shin, as well as learn more about Ketsueki Ookami, in later chapters.**


	3. Part One: Chapter 3

**So, Chapter three: meeting the family, confessions, among other things. Iruka meeting the kids, celebrating graduation, picking up the kids, and a few other things. This is the story of how their day goes after the Sandaime lets them go. Trust me, things are only just starting to become complicated in this version of Konoha. Here's to hoping you like it!**

 **Note: you should know is that mentally, due to Shadow Clones, Usagi and Naruto are on the same page. They are the SAME AGE (minus Usagi's years as Serenity) and are treating those as if she is a reincarnation, since that's pretty much what she is at this point. Thought I should clarify that.**

 **Second Note: Someone was confused about this from a previous chapter, so I thought I'd put it in now- the endgame pairing is Usagi/Naruto. For everyone who was thrown by the wording of the previous chapter, whoa, and um...wow? I thought I'd made it pretty clear that Naruto had just asked Usagi to have dinner with him, as in a _dinner date_ , so can someone please point out the confusing part in that chapter?**

The three of them walked out of the Hokage's office and down the stairs. Iruka walked slightly behind the blond duo, both of whom had left their Genjutsus deactivated. The ANBU seemed to be looking the other way; that, or Ketsueki's presence made them ignore whatever happened in there.

The ex-ANBU was never really seen in or near the Hokage's office unless something important happened. Iruka really hadn't been expecting to hear that the man was technically retired from ANBU, and from the look of things had been taking missions close to the village to keep an eye on Usagi and Naruto.

His two charges from when he was younger. From Iruka's own life as an ANBU hunter-nin, when he had abruptly been taken off the roster and moved to protection detail under Fox-dono's leadership, after the last hunting mission he'd taken left him scarred and unable to return to hunting duty as his mask had been broken.

The two of them were secretive, even in those days, but he never would've expected them to be capable of _this_. Then again, he really shouldn't have been surprised at the way the two of them had changed-they had always been in sync with each other, and that seemed to have only gotten stronger since they were children.

Together, they definitely had the skills to pull a job this big off.

As they walked out, the receptionist sneered in Naruto's direction, and Iruka fought the urge to glare at her. Knowing exactly what Naruto had sacrificed (and on Ketsueki's orders, no less) to keep this village safe was more than enough for him to distrust or outright _hate_ anyone that glared at Naruto like that.

They were two steps from the door when Usagi suddenly giggled quietly to herself, and Naruto glanced her way.

"You remember I showed you that weird joke show, a few years back when we got your old TV working again?" Usagi asked. "During one of our rest days?"

What TV show? Wait- _TV?!_

Iruka knew that Naruto was no fool-he was the son of Iruka's _own_ teacher, (Namikaze) Uzumaki Kushina, and her husband, Namikaze-Uzumaki Minato. It was one reason he was so loyal to Naruto, and by extension Usagi for always standing by Naruto despite what the village did. He'd suspected, and had it confirmed by Ketsueki-he owed it to Kushina to keep Naruto and any of Naruto's precious people safe, no matter the cost to himself.

And he knew every idiot he'd brought in had been worked over hard by his Genin teammates, Anko and Ibiki. But he'd never realized until just now how much they were still hiding-how much Naruto and Usagi knew about Naruto's heritage and position in the village.

The last time he'd seen Naruto and Usagi together they'd been living with Usagi's little brother, Shingo, in a renovated portion of the apartment building Naruto all but owned. No one else lived there, but that seemed to suit the three of them just fine. The last he'd seen of it, the place had been reinforced to survive even the worst attack by one of the Bijuu themselves.

It was covered in what Naruto had affectionately nicknamed 'Fortress seals,' which he had explained to Anga when he was a kid.

That didn't mean he knew who his parents were, though now Iruka was feeling like an idiot for making that assumption. Usagi and Naruto were too smart not to have had that figured out, and their chat with the Hokage proved it.

Usagi, now, was an odd duck. She'd grown up somewhere other than Konoha for a good portion of her life, somewhere with a little more technology, but fewer shinobi, with her little brother Shingo. A betrayal had led them both to flee to Konoha, where they were supposedly safe, despite being hunted. Naruto, he knew even less about despite the trust they both had for Anga, earned for defending them.

If there were ever a pair of Genin who'd end up married, Iruka would bet good money on Naruto and Usagi. They were a seamless team, and not nearly enough like siblings for love not to show up later. They had each other's backs in a fight, as he'd just seen earlier today, and they held on tightly to each other.

That was a valuable thing for both of them, having been betrayed in the past. Even if it was considered a little unhealthy by human standards, Iruka knew neither of them could be truly human-not with the power Usagi had and Naruto's heritage. It was better for them to be reliant on each other, and still capable of showing affection, rather than alone and machine-like.

"Yes," Naruto's voice was strangled, almost like he was fighting back laughter. "Ne, Iruka-sensei, do you have a TV?"

What did the TV have to do with this, though?

"No, Naruto," he said, because it was impossible to afford one with his salary without admitting a stint in ANBU no one was supposed to know about. "I don't. Why?"

Naruto snickered, shaking his head "Just-don't worry about it, Iruka-sensei," he said, turning right, heading towards his apartment building.

Iruka knew he'd missed an inside joke, but decided not to comment. He could sense the two chakra signatures following them just as well as Naruto and Usagi must have been able to feel them. They'd probably caught on earlier than he did; not that Iruka ever stopped paying attention. They were just more alert than he was, which was…startling.

Better to be safe than sorry when giving away sensitive info, even within the walls of Konoha.

"So, Iruka-sensei, how long do we have until teams are assigned and we have to take the actual Genin test?" asked Usagi, startling him a little.

Fresh Genin weren't supposed to know about that, but these were Usagi and Naruto, the best in their year. Seals Masters on top of that. There was probably very little they didn't know, given their prolific use of the Shadow Clones this morning.

Naruto winked at him "We knew all about it the first time," he said. "Overheard someone talking about it."

Iruka felt his eyebrows go up "How?" he'd been expecting it, but to hear it said was something else.

These two were surprising him at every turn today. All of them were good surprises, even Naruto's reaction to Mizuki, because he got to see the _real_ Usagi and Naruto instead of the people they pretended to be for the village at large. It was a rare thing for him to see their real faces, and he enjoyed every second of it.

Naruto raised his eyebrows in return "I'm not exactly a normal shinobi, Iruka-sensei, and Usagi isn't either. Both of us have senses on par with an Inuzuka."

Right. The fox's youki and, if he wasn't mistaken, Usagi's reiki, had enhanced both their senses. Or was it potentially Naruto's youki now? He didn't understand seals well enough to recognize the difference, but he did know how Minato-dono had designed the seal with his sensei's help for months, as a side project when they were bored. The teacher was probably overheard by Shadow Clones or because they thought they were alone, and thus were safe to ask about it.

Though given what he knew of these two, he wouldn't have put it past them to have gotten their information from several sources just to be sure it was accurate-including the Hokage himself.

Iruka smiled "Team assignments are next week. The real Genin test is whenever your Jounin sensei chooses to give it to you."

Usagi smirked; he could see it in her eyes. "Guess without a sensei that puts us in a bit of a bind," she said, shrugging; "Not much of one though. A team is hardly a team if each member of the team doesn't work together, ne?" he saw Naruto nod slightly as she spoke, surprising him.

Iruka wasn't quite sure they wouldn't have a sensei, but kept that thought to himself. He'd seen the way Ketsueki-taichou had looked at the two of them when he appeared in that clearing. He was happy-and more than that, he was _proud_. Proud of what his students had accomplished, proud that they had come so far, and proud to call them his students, and almost his family. There could have been any number of reasons Ketsueki-taichou would've stayed behind, but he seriously doubted the man would let go of his team that easily.

And Naruto and Usagi already had the Genin test blown out of the water. Any form of Genin test they would pass, at least of the ones here in Konoha. The two of them worked like they'd been partners for years, and silently he applauded Ketsueki-taichou for training both of them to be such close teammates. He had no doubt the Hokage would keep them both on the same team to keep them from fleeing from the village, and have Ketsueki train them. They were only loyal to each other, at this point.

The only question was, who would be their _third_ teammate? Who did they trust enough for that?

"With that attitude, I'd say you've already passed," said Iruka with a smile of his own. Moments later they took to the rooftops, and he felt one of the presences vanish. The other one remained. "You stayed behind," he commented.

"Two extra years," Naruto agreed, and Usagi nodded, a smile crinkling the corners of her eyes like Kakashi-sempai's.

Both of them were enigmas, even with their Genjutsus gone. Their eyes were old, the product of living in a hateful village that tried to kill the very heroes that kept them safe, forced to rely on each other and protectors for their lives. Protectors who did their best, but weren't always strong enough to stop everything on October Tenth or, sometimes, on other days when the villagers decided to try and kill the resident 'demon' again.

It was no wonder they had reinforced fortress seals keeping their entire apartment building locked down.

Iruka knew the ANBU following them right now was Karasu's partner, Hebi. Hebi had been switched out since he'd been in ANBU, and the new Hebi was a near-silent man with almost no visible emotions. He was pleasant enough, if a little hollow, like most ANBU recruits. But unlike the old Hebi, he wasn't nearly as fanatical about protecting Naruto and Usagi-though Usagi most of all, as the old Hebi had seen a kindred spirit in her.

So had Iruka, if he was honest with himself. Naruto was like a little brother to him, and Usagi, a little sister, both of whom needed guidance and protection. Though mostly, they needed to learn to protect themselves, and someone who didn't absolutely hate them in the village.

But it was Usagi who had first shown him the way, shown him that there was someone very human inside Naruto Uzumaki after all, no matter what species he really was. It had only cemented his loyalty to the duo.

Originally, he had only protected them out of duty to Kushina-sensei. Now he would lay down his life for either one of them in a heartbeat, because they were family.

They came to a stop just outside Naruto's apartment building and the ANBU's 'Path of Death.' Naruto glanced at Usagi, and the two of them looked as though they were having a conversation, though there were no words spoken.

Iruka felt like a third wheel, realizing just who they reminded him of. His sensei and her…she _insisted_ they were only best friends, really, but they'd been married in secret. Usagi and Naruto reminded him of Kushina-sensei and Minato-dono, with palatable heat between them and loyalty that could not be broken no matter how many tried. Neither would leave the other's side.

He'd thought Usagi was developing a crush on Naruto when he saw them together again, now in his class. They didm't act anything like they had outside school, but that was to be expected-Naruto was viciously hated and hunted by the entire village, and anyone associating with him too publicly was in danger. With the way they'd acted, they were rivals and best friends-but he knew they were closer than that, and the accidental kiss yesterday in class, with Usagi using the Substitution to keep Sasuke away from Naruto, had gone even further towards confirming that belief. It hadn't ended until both of them seemed to realize what they were doing and stopped mid-class.

And he'd caught Usagi staring at Naruto more than once during class instead of goofing off or reading the textbook. Naruto had done the same when he knew Usagi wasn't looking.

It was sweet, even if he was now aware their relationship ran much deeper than anyone had ever guessed. Any teammate of theirs would have to be ready for their camaraderie, and their long looks. He hoped the Hokage had a good idea of who their teammates would be-and he really, really hoped the Haruno and the Uchiha weren't on their team.

Both Naruto and Usagi bit down on their thumbs, wiping blood on a very small spot in sequence near the door to the empty building. There was a brief flash of light, so brief that if he hadn't been looking he would've missed it.

Naruto smiled up at him "It's okay to go in now, Iruka-sensei," he said, opening the door. The minute it closed, he added "for the next two minutes."

Then he and Usagi took off at a speed Iruka was hard-pressed to match, but knowing what kind of seals Naruto probably had put in, he kept moving. He had no desire to get caught in the Path of Death. Not with what these two had set up. Fox-sama used it to punish people who irritated her in ANBU, and most fresh ANBU who went through the Path of Death came out whimpering and in need of sessions with the Yamanaka therapists.

They made it to a door next to Naruto's apartment without setting off the seals, and Naruto unlocked the door, letting them in.

"We're home!" called Usagi, but there was no answer. "No need to worry, we wouldn't have brought him here if we didn't want him to meet you!" she added.

There was a wordless greeting from the kitchen, and then a man with spiky silver hair wearing a mask over part of his face startled Iruka by poking his head around the corner. It was _Hatake Kakashi_ , the Copy Ninja, the Man of a Thousand Jutsus standing there! His Sharingan eye was closed and covered with an eyepatch and his other eye was warm grey as he looked at the two of them. And Iruka's simp.

Kakashi-sempai's eye narrowed "The fox runs in the leaves," he began.

"The forest burns," Usagi said "As the moon rises."

"And as the sun sets, the tiger moves to join the fox," Naruto finished.

Kakashi-sempai's serious expression became an upturned smile, and he looked- _happy_ , happier than Iruka had ever seen the man, even in passing. "Yo, Naruto, Usagi! Glad you're home safe; the kids are going to be begging for breakfast soon."

Naruto sighed "Of course they will be. Kaka-nii, this is Iruka-sensei," he introduced the two of them "You probably know him as Anga-san, one of our more devoted protectors." Iruka gave his sempai a hesitant wave, wondering if the man remembered him. "We decided he could come over and meet the crew; after what happened when we caught the traitor, he's…well, he's aniki, if he wants to be."

The open invitation and the way Naruto and Usagi looked at him made Iruka smile "I would," he said "If you would like me to be."

"Oh? My cute siblings have finally brought another home!" Kakashi-sempai cried, chortling as he walked out of the kitchen, one hand in his pocket. "Yo. I'm Hatake Kakashi. Nice to meet you out of mask, Iruka-san."

"N-Nice to meet you as well, Kakashi-sempai," Iruka stammered, not wanting to be rude to the man. Kakashi raised an eyebrow at him "What?" he couldn't help asking.

"Just Kakashi, no suffix please," the silver-haired elite Jounin requested. "You're just in time to see the chaos. Do you want me to show him around, while you two clean up? Naruto, you've got blood on your hands again," he added "And the corner of your mask."

"Ah, damn," Naruto shook his head, "I'll go wash up. Usagi, you can have the shower next door."

Usagi turned to Iruka, the minute Naruto headed off to shower, and kicked her shoes off. Iruka did the same. "Good. Now follow me, and _sit_ ," she ordered, half-dragging Iruka into the kitchen while Kakashi watched, amused. "He took a Fuuma Shuriken to the back earlier, and I healed him, but he's still wincing. Probably sore. _Sit_ , before you hurt yourself," she added, nudging Iruka towards a chair.

Kakashi turned to Iruka "Oh? A Fuuma Shuriken? Why?" Iruka could almost hear the _'I thought I taught you better than that'_ in his voice.

"To protect Naruto," admitted Iruka with an embarrassed smile as Usagi shooed Kakashi to the table and away from a pot of boiling water, quickly turning it off.

"Bad Kaka-nii. No cooking for you," she added, glancing at Kakashi. "You want coffee or tea, Iruka-aniki, Kaka-nii?" she asked.

Kakashi gestured at her mask, raising an eyebrow in silent question, and then the outfit she was wearing.

Usagi sighed "I know I'm still in mission gear, Kaka-nii, but the kids won't be up for another hour at least and I want to get you two some caffeine before I go wash up. Now, coffee or tea? Sugar or milk or both?" she added.

Iruka had the feeling she was only asking to be polite. Something about Usagi told him she already knew what they wanted.

"Coffee please," Kakashi requested, "You know how I usually like it."

"Yeah, yeah, a little half-and-half and that's all you want," Usagi nodded, "I know. How about you, aniki?" she asked, turning to Iruka, who started.

"Oh-uh," he stammered "I usually drink green tea with a little bit of brown sugar, but I think I might need something stronger. I've been up all night."

Usagi smiled, nodding. It was amazing how different the girl looked from the battle-weary, hardened medic he'd seen just earlier this morning. Now she looked like she really belonged here, like this run-down (well, from the outside) apartment was her home.

It was very nicely furnished, Iruka noticed, on the inside. The furniture looked hand-crafted and was all made out of seamless wood or metal, which spoke of skills these two had probably spent ages acquiring with the Shadow Clone. From the crazy levels of chakra they had, he had no doubt they'd ruthlessly abused the learning capacity of the jutsu under his taichou's and sempai's watchful eyes.

"We have a Namikaze blend that, if watered down, should keep you awake, but it might make you hyper at full dose. We also have Uzumaki cinnamon spice, oolong, a Mizu blend, and a few other mixtures," Usagi said, as she walked over to a cabinet and pulled it open. "I'll bring you a sample of each, and you choose from there."

Iruka nodded dumbly, not knowing what else to say. Kakashi's slight chuckle drew his attention, and he glanced at the silver-haired Jounin, who grinned at him.

"Still not used to the new and improved blondes?" he teased, and Iruka flushed a little, shaking his head. He didn't know why he felt so nervous around Kakashi-sempai, but he'd never really spoken to the man off-duty. "Usagi-chan and Naruto-kun are some of the strongest people I know. But they remind me so much of Minato-sensei and Kushina-shishou," he smiled "I remember you. Kushina-shishou's favorite little Genin, right?"

"Y-what?" Iruka started; he hadn't known Kushina-sensei favored him. "She-no, she-she didn't _favor_ me over Kurenai or Ibiki," he protested "S-She even took on Satsuki, after that mission went wrong."

That had been the catalyst for Minato-dono becoming selected as the Yondaime Hokage, among…other things, like Obito-san vanishing.

Kakashi winced, and Iruka winced too, wishing he hadn't brought it up "How long have you known?" Iruka blinked "That Naruto is their son," he clarified.

Iruka smiled "Kushina-sensei didn't exactly hide her pregnancy from us very well. She tried, but Satsuki-nee wouldn't hear any of it. Practically forced her to explain it to all of us, and insisted she quit skipping prenatal appointments for training," Kakashi huffed a laugh, shaking his head. "Seriously, though; I remember she took leave for no reason, medical leave at that, and I knew the Uzumaki clan was too strong for that to be anything else. And it was hard to miss the heat between her and Minato-dono."

Usagi walked up with the tea "Really, Iruka-sensei?" she asked, surprised. "It was that obvious?"

It was clear that she wasn't just asking for his sake, but for Naruto's and the children's, as well. He really wanted to meet these children; Iruka had suspicions as to who they were, especially knowing Kakashi-sempai had custody of a little girl about to enter the Academy-she was an orphan, but she bore his last name, and his twin's, too.

"They hid it well, but not well enough to fool me," Iruka admitted. "I'm a chakra sensor and honestly, I could feel their…well," he blushed, "let's just say sensei was very good at hiding it but she _always_ loved Minato-dono. It was very obvious he loved her in return, whenever they were around each other. At least to those of us who were considered close family."

Kakashi smiled, dipping his head "They didn't think about that, I think. I remember sensei wondering how a sensor would notice, but you're not an ordinary sensor, are you, Iruka-san?" Iruka shook his head.

"I'm originally from Kiri, and so are my parents," he confessed, "There's a reason for that. When the Purges started, my parents fled because we have…well, a Kekkei Genkai," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

Usagi blinked "You do, Iruka-sensei? You never use it, though." He sniffed each offered teabag in turn "Which do you like?"

"This one," he picked up the one that smelled of cloves and cinnamon, like his sensei always had on hand after a long training session.

Usagi smiled "That one was Kushina-dono's favorite. Naruto found the recipe for it, when we were younger, and Shingo-chan loves it too."

Iruka could only imagine how Shingo reacted to her calling him that. He'd had it before, vaguely-that much, Iruka _did_ know. He just didn't know what it was at the time. It smelled of home, the home Kushina-sensei had given him after his parents died.

Everyone thought his parents were killed in the Kyuubi attack. They were wrong, but he never corrected them; a pair of marauding demons who thought his mother had stolen from them killed them both on the road, with Iruka only surviving because he was very well-hidden. Iruka, meanwhile, was picked up by Kushina-sensei and brought back to the village, where he flew through the Academy and was immediately brought onto his sensei's team when he graduated. Kushina-sensei was his closest confidant…and the one who gave him his true last name. Iruka was never able to claim his heritage, but Kushina-sensei had given him the Genjutsu he wore now, and made him into a shinobi Konoha could be proud of.

With Minato-dono's help, though, Iruka knew he wasn't an Umino, not really.

"She gave it to me, sometimes, when I was a kid," Iruka said, smiling back. "I loved it then. Thank you, Usagi-chan," he said, and Usagi's cheeks pinked a little where they peeked out from underneath her mask.

"Oh-you're welcome, aniki," said Usagi, busying herself by pouring Kakashi a cup of coffee. "You never use your Kekkei Genkai."

Iruka bit his tongue to keep from snapping back that he couldn't control it, because there was honestly no way Usagi would know. He took a few deep breaths, keeping his eyes on the water in front of him as it trembled under the pressure of his anxiety. Thankfully, the ripples never spread very far. He _never_ used his power because of what it would do, what he _could_ do if he lost control. And it was much, much harder to control than it should've been.

"Can you control your Kekkei Genkai, Iruka-san?" Kakashi inquired, granting him a reprieve from the question.

"Just Iruka, please," he requested, "And not in the way most people do." He could control most aspects but not…not the parts he hated. "There are some pieces of it I wish I could control, but they…" he shrugged, smiling sadly "They're a lot harder to control than the rest of it, so I leave it alone unless I really, really need it."

That didn't mean he wouldn't use it in a pinch, but he had no desire to be ostracized or kicked out of the village because he wasn't _actually_ human. Iruka knew Minato-dono had known, and Kushina-sensei had known, and Fox-dono knew, but nobody else. Not even the Sandaime Hokage and that was for good reason; he didn't want to be forced into reviving his clan.

Even if they had once been great, the branches that still existed were dangerous, almost insane with their power, and he had no desire to go back to that. Or to gain his old reputation back, though he would use it as a Hunter-nin, which was why Minato-dono had known.

It was also why he had avoided several hospital visits while protecting the Namikaze-Uzumaki-Tsukino family.

To his surprise, Kakashi nodded "I know what you mean." The Hatake clan, too? "Hatakes are descended from…well," he sighed "Demons, dog demons specifically. We're still not good at controlling those tendencies. They drove Obito crazy, when I knew him."

"Which none of us care about," Usagi said, coming over with a cup of tea for Iruka "Here, Iruka-aniki. Shingo and I have more reiki than the rest of the world twice over _combined_ , you already know Naruto's secret," she directed that at Kakashi, "And not to mention Kurama's deal and Me-chan's powers. None of us has the control necessary to really use our powers the way we should, but we _try_ , and if we fail, well…everyone has a healing factor of some kind. Is Ketsu-nii coming soon, do you think?"

A very faint and familiar voice reached Iruka's ears "Usa, bathroom's free."

"I'll be back in a minute," Usagi said, keeping her voice at a normal level. "I'll go get cleaned up, see you two in a minute," she said with a smile at Iruka and Kakashi.

Iruka had a few questions, now "So, wait, your-gift, does it give you a second chakra, then? And what about Ketsueki?"

Kakashi nodded "Youki. I'm technically half-youkai, as are all of the Hatake clan," he admitted, "And Ketsueki, well, he's just plain _weird_. I'd give you his story," he shrugged "But I don't think that'd work out, honestly. Even I don't understand half of what's happened to him, and that's only the parts he's shared with us. Maa, he's very complicated and can't tell us much, or risks dying. He has a sword very much like Usagi's, and the last thing you want to do is get between him and our family."

May the kami help anyone who tried to touch the Namikaze-Uzumaki-Tsukino family on the former ANBU commander's watch. Iruka had no doubt that they were well cared-for by the ex-ANBU, and had done everything he could to keep them safe on his own, as well. It would be nice to have some help, even if they couldn't come forward and really _help_ each other.

Iruka smiled "I figured as much. Hey, when you were working with him in ANBU, how bad was he? I got paired with him once on a mission out of the village, a large-scale mission that kind of went to hell immediately and he kept cursing, something about Namikaze luck."

Kakashi laughed "Oh, he was the _worst_. Every mission out of the village he'd be smack dab in the middle of some mob of demons, or undead, or some other random creature," the silver-haired man shook his head, sipping at his coffee. "Perfect. Usagi might not be a great cook, but she's a _perfect_ barista and mixes the best drinks I've ever tasted. Naruto had better hold onto her," he nodded, "But back to your question, Iruka. Ketsueki is _terrible_. He has the worst luck you can imagine, but the power to back it up. Nobody ever dies on his missions."

"Does he ever use his sword?" wondered Iruka "And what kind of luck?"

"The minute he utters 'what could possibly go wrong,' or anything in relation to it, run like hell," Kakashi advised. "Chaos follows. He also loves blowing things up, just like shishou and sensei did," he smiled "If I didn't know better, I'd say he was Obito, back from the grave to make sure the world paid for not protecting his family better." He paused "I've never actually seen him pull his sword on anyone, but the rumor among the ANBU is the last time he used the blade, _one hundred_ A-rank demons died in under five minutes."

Iruka shuddered "That would explain a lot," he made a conscious effort not to whistle, remembering how much that hurt Naruto's and Usagi's ears. Kakashi probably wouldn't appreciate that either, if his hearing was as sensitive as a hanyou's. "Seriously?"

That was _leagues_ away from how powerful Iruka was, unless he unleashed his Kekkei Genkai and even then, he wasn't sure he could survive all of that. He was _sure_ he'd die of chakra exhaustion first.

Kakashi nodded "He's worse when you attack Naruto, Usagi, or any of the kids," the Jounin smirked "Pack, or family, means everything to us, Iruka. Welcome to the family," he added.

And it really was a family, realized Iruka, with a few adults on hand to protect the children and Naruto and Usagi as the caretakers/parents/leaders-in-training, somehow. He had the feeling Usagi acted the way she had with him with _everyone_ , and he had no doubt Naruto was the same. If the way the blondes treated their friends and each other was any indication, they were a lot like sensei and Minato-dono, which shouldn't really have surprised him.

Iruka smiled "Does Usagi mother everyone?" he paused "And do you all have enough room? Why doesn't anyone else live here?"

Kakashi nodded "She drags me out of bed if I don't come to breakfast every morning," he said, chuckling, before he sobered. "Nobody else lives in the building outside our pack because Naruto and Usagi tricked the previous owner into selling it to Ketsueki. The top two levels are our house, so to speak, and the rest," he grinned, one eye crinkling, "it's not called the Path of Death for nothing."

Iruka winced "Yeah, Fox-dono still sends ANBU up into it, doesn't she?"

"Yeah, when they piss her off enough, or are fresh enough," Kakashi said, taking a longer drink of his coffee. "So, Anga, or Iruka, now. What do you think?"

Iruka took a deep breath and let it out, feeling for the…well, it wasn't _quite_ like water, but the chakra signatures around him. Kakashi's was strong, bright in his mind's eye, wrapped through with white bands that crackled like lightning. Naruto was upstairs-and-wait, there were _three_ chakras surrounding him! Blue, yellow, _and_ the purified youki he got from the Kyuubi. How was that possible? Usagi's calming, river-like chakra washed through him next, her reiki brushing against him and leaving him feeling a bit like she was tickling him. But there were three more signatures here, each of which was in various stages of sleep.

One had two chakras, a crackling yellow one like Naruto's and the normal blue, one had bright, star-like hyper-condensed chakra, and the last was probably Shingo-kun, with vast stores of reiki along with his chakra.

"Naruto says to stop, before you wake the kids, please," Kakashi requested, and Iruka started, snapped out of his peaceful moment, "I know it's natural for you, but they're very sensitive to foreign chakra, especially Suzume-chan. We're all very sensitive, but she's a natural sensor, much like yourself, Iruka," he explained.

Hatake Suzume was supposedly in Kakashi's custody, but he could see now that that was just a front. Just like Ketsueki having custody of the other two, and, he had no doubt, Usagi as well before her Genin test. Kakashi had likely adopted Suzume to keep her safe from the rest of the village, and from the feel of her chakra, she was either related to Naruto, _or_ had a bloodline limit that would mean the council wanted to turn her into breeding stock. By making her a distant relative of the Hatake clan, Kakashi had saved her from this fate, or from ending up a part of ROOT.

Iruka flushed, pulling his tiny chakra tendrils under control "I'm sorry," he said, "I'm tired enough that I can't direct it to healing, not completely anyway," he mumbled.

Kakashi paused "There's really no reason to apologize, Iruka. Just give the kids time to get used to you," he smiled, disarmingly this time, as Iruka stared at him "Besides, they _like_ you, and I'm sure you've taught all of them before. They're just not used to feeling you around where they sleep yet."

Iruka chuckled nervously "Still, I should know better," he said, shaking his head and taking a long sip of the spicy cinnamon tea. "Tastes just like I remember," he whispered, before glancing up at Kakashi and mouthing 'Any bets on when they'll get together?'

Kakashi chuckled "Not here, Iruka," he said, mouthing 'they'll kill me if they find out about that pool,' and Iruka grinned mischievously at the Jounin. "But yes, in answer to your question. So many, many have been placed. Usagi'll make someone very happy with her homemaking skills sometime in the future."

Iruka didn't doubt it. Naruto and Usagi were even now working in the same room, well away from them. Iruka frowned, wondering where time had gone when he glanced at the clock and saw that it had been almost twenty minutes since he'd arrived, but took another drink of his tea. Then he started answering Kakashi's questions this time, about what had happened overnight and why Naruto and Usagi were covered in blood.

He had the feeling the kids weren't supposed to know the full extent of their missions, but he wasn't sure.

As they talked, Iruka realized he had somehow, accidentally, struck up a friendship with the Copy Ninja, enjoying his tea as he recounted the events of the night to Kakashi, and revealed Naruto's and Usagi's clever plans for Mizuki.

"Pass me the towel, please," requested Usagi as Naruto finished using the bathroom.

After washing his hands, he passed Usagi a fluffy white towel, which she wrapped around herself, and stepped out with Naruto's help, doing her best not to openly ogle him. After all, shirtless he looked _hot_ , and with chiseled abs like his, she was very glad she was the only one seeing him like this. Not that he'd-well, maybe, considering he _had_ asked her to have dinner with him privately either tonight or tomorrow night.

"Thanks," she said, smiling at the blonde.

Naruto smiled back, canines glinting in the light of the bathroom "You're welcome, Usagi-chan. Do you want some help with your hair?" he offered, picking up her brush and following her into the other room.

They'd seen each other naked so many times that this wasn't all that awkward. Though they did spend the night in separate rooms, more often than not Usagi or Naruto would wake to find the other one had crept into their beds in the middle of the night, and sometimes they agreed to sleep next to each other to ward off the nightmares both of them had. Usagi had never dared take it further than hugging him in her sleep, even though she _really_ wanted to.

She was too afraid of ruining their friendship. But Naruto had asked her to get dinner with him, so…maybe this wasn't _that_ one-sided.

Or so she hoped, at least.

Usagi finished drying off and shrugged off the towel, dressing as Naruto quickly averted his eyes, his cheeks going red beneath the thick, dark whiskers that marked him as the half-demon Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. Once she was mostly decent, that is, wearing a pair of simple black pants and a light blue t-shirt, she made a clicking sound with her tongue. He looked back at her, smiling.

"So, you think trusting Iruka-sensei is the right thing to do, right, Usagi-chan?" he called her Usagi-chan in private, but both of them knew it was too dangerous to do in the village at large.

She moved to sit down in front of the bed, with Naruto sitting behind her. He started at the bottom of her hair, stroking the brush through it gently, and making her smile. Mamoru would _never_ have done this for her, not even before the betrayal without a lot of cajoling, and the difference was so stark it still hurt a little.

How had she been so foolish as to trust in someone like him, believing the stories Setsuna had fed to her?

"I think we should trust him, Naruto-kun," she agreed. "We need to. He's your _mom's student_ , Naruto-you weren't there for that part, but I know you heard it." Kakashi and Iruka were talking in low voices in the kitchen, but both of them could hear the conversation the two were having just fine. "He misses her, yes, but he _knew_ you when he saw you. Why do you think he protected us for so long? And so fiercely?"

Naruto smiled, "I know," he said, his pleasant baritone voice rumbling in her chest. "I heard. I agree with you. How do you think he's going to take the kids?" he asked.

"Kakashi told him about the kids while I was in the shower," Usagi bit back a wordless sound when, instead of tugging at the knot close to her head, he started stroking his fingers through it. "I think we surprised him, but he'll take them well. You know he will," she smiled, "Besides, he thinks I make good tea."

"And he can drink the Uzumaki blend, too," said Naruto, "I know." He smiled "Kaka-nii trusts him, too. As does Ketsu-nii. I think we might see Ketsu-nii's face today, too," he said.

"That'd be nice," Usagi said, "So-you want to go for full shock factor, or walk in with our masks on?'

Naruto's gentle motions with the brush stopped completely "I…" he wasn't quite touching her, but Usagi brushed her hand against his knee, and a wave of _fear_ hit her, hard.

And she knew exactly what it meant.

Naruto didn't look human, not really. If he wore the mask, he hid the most of it, and he could always pretend he'd been drawing on the Kyuubi's youki if he wanted to, but in truth, he looked much more like his dad (and not his dad's public face) without the Genjutsu. His face was sharp, his jaw chiseled even at his age, with his ears tapering to points (though that was easily hidden by his hair) and his eyes looking more like a fox's or cat's. The lower half of his face was what worried him, though; his whiskers were thick and dark, almost realistically so, as they were nearly black and covered most of his lower face, and his canines and jaw shape only proved that he was…different. Frightening, sometimes. He had thick, large canines where most people had regular teeth and the rest of his carnivorous teeth were filed to tiny points, and his cheekbones were high and streamlined like those of a predator.

Shingo hadn't ever been afraid of him, nor had Kurama, Usagi, Kakashi, Ketsueki, Fox, or Suzume, but the village at large and bringing people in afterward? That wasn't nearly as easy.

"Easy, easy," she soothed, broadcasting _warmth-affection-serenity_ through the link. "I think the most you'll do is shock Iruka-aniki. I'm not so sure, from the feel of his chakra, that he's completely human himself. Probably just has a strong Genjutsu on. If you'd rather look like Minato-tou-san when he wore the Genjutsu, you can use a Genjutsu, but I don't think you should hide completely anymore."

Naruto nodded, and went back to brushing her hair, not acknowledging the fear "I know, but the last thing we need is for someone to decide to break down the door or something in search of me. You know Chouko-nee-san and her gossip, and she's keyed into the sealing array."

"Then make it a Namikaze Blood Oath, baka," Usagi said fondly, smiling as she closed her eyes "That feels really good, Naruto-kun." _Pleasure_ slipped into the link before she could stop it, and she flushed, but Naruto seemed not to notice. That is, until something warm surged down her arm and made her gasp. "Naruto-kun?" he had stopped, frozen completely in place.

"I…" this time, he really _did_ sound upset, "I'm…Usagi, I…" when she turned, she saw him sitting there, eyes cast downward onto her silver brush. He tried to pull his knee away from her, but to any eyes it was obvious that Naruto was…well, that he felt strongly. "I'm so sorry," he turned away, but not before she saw physical evidence of what she'd just felt.

Those words startled her out of her shock "For what?" she asked, slowly getting to her feet, but Naruto didn't look at her, and pulled away from her touch abruptly. "Naruto-kun?" she moved to touch him, but he flinched, and Usagi pulled back immediately, feeling like a part of her world had just come crashing down "Naruto-kun, what's wrong?" she asked, trying to keep it together.

He was freaking out somehow, so it wasn't like she could afford to break down now. It was hard, though, and the world was starting to blur. Really, she hadn't ever wanted him to pull away from her, and just because he'd felt what she did, he was pulling away from her? Had she done something wrong, or maybe said something he didn't want?

Naruto activated the sound-silencing seals on the bedroom instantaneously, because knowing Kakashi, he'd want to intervene.

"I'm sorry I can't control it," he said quietly "I know you don't want anyone to look at you like that Mamoru-teme did, and-"

Usagi cut him off by marching around in front of him and placing both hands on his bare shoulders, looking the startled hanyou dead in the eyes.

"I don't care _what_ that teme did," she said firmly, and Naruto tried to turn away, but Usagi caught his chin, keeping him looking at her. "We…" she bit her lip, "Naruto, if you'd just waited a moment, you'd have felt this," she opened the link completely, letting him feel the _warmth-love-desire-lust-amazement-HOPE_ filling her, feeling her eyes water. "Unless…you don't…" she started, not knowing quite what had made him pull away from her.

"I-I do," he caught her hand before she moved it away "I just-I thought…" hope was welling in him now, she could feel it, and he was holding onto it tightly. "I thought you'd never look at me like this, Usagi-chan," he confessed quietly "I'm a hanyou, and-a Namikaze, too. We tend to be feared, not… _wanted_ , not like that."

Usagi smiled, blinking back tears as _relief_ welled up so hot ad tight in her throat she could barely breathe. "I had no idea," she whispered, and Naruto stared at her, the hot relief flooding her from both of them. "I thought, at best, I was like your sister."

"Sister?" Naruto's laugh was choked, and breathless " _Sister_? Usagi-chan, I've spent three years hoping you didn't notice this," he admitted, "when I started smelling you everywhere, I knew…well, I couldn't take that chance. My clone sort of did, but…not like this," he glanced at his lap, and Usagi glanced down, blushing when she realized why he'd turned away from her. "I'm a Namikaze, Usagi. We mate for life, and…once I realized that, I thought being near you would have to be enough," he confessed quietly. "I never thought you'd want anyone else after what that teme did to you."

"Chiba was a dick," Usagi said bluntly, reaching up to gently wipe at one of his tears "I don't _love_ him, and I _never_ loved him. Naruto-kun, you have no idea how many times I've had to turn away, or wished that I was nineteen again, so you could…see someone with fewer flaws, this time," she confessed. "The age gap, whatever it may really be, means nothing to me. My first life was painful, and for all the good in it, my second more so. But in this life? In this life, I finally have a loyal family, and someone I can rely on, like he's my other half," Usagi, was surprised when Naruto reached up to cup her face with his clawed hand, "I fell in love with you years ago. At first I didn't notice. And when I did, I just didn't think you'd ever feel the same."

Naruto laughed breathlessly "We're a pair, aren't we, Usagi-chan?" he asked, making her smile. "I love you. I've loved you since you took it upon yourself to make sure Suzume, Kurama, and I all got a place of our own despite how much it cost you. I didn't know we would end up here today, but I have to say, I love it," he winked at her, making her laugh breathlessly. "I hated hiding it, but I thought it was better to hide it than risk losing you."

"You're _reading my mind_ , kitsune," she tugged at one of his spiky locks, making him smile, pulling their foreheads together. "I won't deny it. I was thrilled when I got those memories, I just-I decided it was probably better not to show it, not where everyone could see it."

Usagi felt like she was flying as Naruto's emotions flew through her, causing her to _really_ feel weightless. She was grinning, so widely she didn't know how to deal with it, and she could see a similar grin on Naruto's face.

"I still wish the clone hadn't called you a hottie," confessed Naruto, and Usagi laughed quietly, keeping her voice low so as not to damage his ears. "But I'm glad it had the courage to do what I couldn't. I wasn't able to force myself to make the choice, not when it meant I could lose you."

Usagi grinned broadly at him, reflecting his emotions back at him in a feedback loop of _love-affection-warmth-joy-happiness_ and a whole bunch of other mixed up warm emotions. She was deliriously happy, just where she was now, and Naruto was the same way, looking at her with those…how had she _never_ noticed the way he looked at her before?

"I didn't want to either, but I'm glad we ended up making it anyway," Usagi whispered. "So. I know it's dangerous to tell the village, but…" she wanted to show off her kitsune, she _wanted_ to be seen with him, and she wanted everyone to see what a good person they decided not to look at twice. "I want this to be official."

"This is going to last forever, if you do this," warned Naruto, hesitating. "I told you once, Namikazes mate for life. Dad met and married one woman. Same with his parents, and Kurama's. You know how this works, Usagi-chan," he whispered "I don't want to trap you into something you aren't ready for."

It took her a little while to come up with an answer, because she _knew_ Naruto would commit for life. The difference was that that was what she _wanted_ him to do.

"This time is different," Usagi said quietly "I know how to complete the bond-Ketsueki-nii and Kakashi-nii made _that_ clear. But you know," she reached up, stroking one finger down his whiskers and he shuddered, gripping the edge of the bed so hard she heard wood splinter. "I don't do short-term commitment. It's why I was never really in love with the needle-dick despite everything Setsuna did. He was never faithful, never able to give me more than short-term commitment; on some level I knew he coudln't. But I want long, and Lunarians were always told our mates are a once-in-a-lifetime choice." She could see Naruto staring, feeling like he was seeing through her.

"You mean…" breathed Naruto, _hope_ surging through her again.

Usagi grinned "You only mate once, and we could die at any point," she said, "So I'm grabbing this before I lose it," she inched forward on the bed "Unless you don't want it. I know what forever means, Naruto-kun-but I'm not ready for _all_ the way yet."

"Neither a-am I," choked out the kitsune "but _by the kami_ , Usagi-chan," he stuttered "You're s-sure you w-want this? T-that you c-can't do b-better?"

Usagi answered him by closing the distance between them, shifting so she was sitting on his lap and kissing him for all he was worth. It didn't take long for him to respond, taking control back from her and tangling his fingers in her hair, bypassing a chaste kiss and moving to something much, _much_ more heated.

This had been years in coming. It took them more than five minutes to pull apart, and both were flushed and breathing more heavily than usual. They grinned at each other broadly, and Naruto squeezed her hand before he picked up the brush.

"Want me to finish your hair, Usagi-chan?" he asked, feeling much lighter and happier than before, which made her smile.

"Yes," she leaned in and kissed him again, for good measure, though this one was much more chaste. "I'm so glad you know, now."

"Me too," agreed Naruto, and then he chuckled "I'm so glad your hair is wet. It's a mess," he admitted.

"I messed yours up too, but yours is so much easier to fix," Usagi pointed out with a half-grumble as she shifted to sit in front of him. Naruto began running the brush through her hair again, and this time she sank into it, enjoying every second of it. "I think there's a bet about us getting together among the Jounin."

Naruto didn't even pause, radiating _happiness-joy-love-want_ through her again.

"I know," he said, as he continued stroking through all of her layers of hair with the brush. "I found out about it from Kakashi-nii, and told him if he bet on when we slept together, he'd very soon find himself Namikaze'd."

"What do you want to bet he did it anyway?" Usagi asked, leaning back to let him untangle the worst knots, near the base of her skull.

"Probably, knowing Kaka-nii," Naruto said, smirking "But he'll regret it." Of that, Usagi had no doubt. "Do you want to tell the kits?" he asked, when she leaned back to let him finish running the brush through the hair very, very close to her scalp.

"They can keep secrets," she smirked up at him, sticking her tongue out just to watch him blush "You and I both know that."

"Oh, I do, you little minx," murmured Naruto, leaning down to kiss her again as he twisted them both around. They broke apart when Kakashi called both of their names. He smirked, making her wobble a little in his grasp "I think we should tell them. But not where the rest can hear-let them sweat a bit, since they're betting on us."

"Then let's do it," said Usagi, rising to her feet "Come on, Naru-we're needed in the kitchen."

He groaned "Be with you in a minute," with that, he walked awkwardly to the bathroom, leaving a blushing, warm Usagi to run her tongue over her lips again.

She couldn't believe how lucky she'd just gotten. Usagi felt like she could fly-she had a mate now, she'd chosen and he'd accepted-and she felt giddy. She skipped out of the room, heading for Shingo's room to wake her little brother, fighting the urge to whistle.

Life was indeed good.

And it got even better when she realized Shingo wasn't actually awake yet.

Since the Senshi had betrayed her, Shingo-who'd been the Crown Prince Tranquility during her time as Princess Serenity-and she had become much, much closer. Forced to rely on each other to survive, Usagi and Shingo had bonded together more strongly than ever before, and once their Setsuna-invented personalities broke, they became much closer, and much more like they had been originally. They'd originally been really, really close, which was why Setsuna sought to break them up-they were twins in their first lives, and the first set of twins to not demand splitting the planet in two to rule when they were born. And they were strong.

Usagi sang in an off-key voice "Time to get up, time to get up, time to get U-UP!" pulling the covers off her little brother in one fell swoop and causing him to yelp, rolling over and hitting the floor instead of the bed.

"Ouch!" yelped Shingo, before cursing "Usagi! Nee-chan, what the hell?" he glared up at her, before he grinned "Finally told him, then?"

Usagi rolled her eyes and tossed a kunai in his direction. He caught it with a bored look on his face. "Get up, Tranq. We've got breakfast going in the kitchen, and Iruka-aniki needs to be filled in on things. And yes," she grinned "I told him."

"YES!" cheered Shingo, and both paused when they heard two thumps and yelps from next door. "Whoops."

"It's okay, we were going to wake them anyway in a second," Usagi assured him, "Get dressed, Shin-chan. We've got company for breakfast and some news for you guys."

When she entered the hallway, Naruto passed her, on his way to the kitchen with suspiciously clean-smelling hands. Usagi grinned at him and he grinned back at her, a fang poking out of his mouth as he nodded towards Kurama's room.

 _Bet you he's still half-asleep._

 _Shin-chan woke him when he shouted; no bet_ , Usagi replied, and he nodded, heading out to the kitchen, looking a little disappointed. _Sorry, Naru-kun._

 _It's okay, Usa-chan; not like you could help broadcasting this,_ Naruto grinned through their link; _I love it._ This left Usagi with a blush that would last for the entire day, even if it was faint.

In what seemed to be no time at all, the kitchen was bustling with activity. Iruka was grateful he'd gotten the chance to have some tea, given how busy the household seemed to be not an hour after they'd gotten home. Usagi was chopping different ingredients for breakfast, keeping a close eye on the younger three-who were a surprise to him, but only in terms of setting, while Shingo meditated with Kurama and Suzume on different-colored meditation mats in the living room. It was easy to mistake them for an actual family, with Naruto and Usagi as the adults/caretakers/older siblings, the little siblings playing with chakra, and Iruka and Kakashi as the guests/uncles.

"Usa-chan, I need-" started Naruto, but Usagi had already deposited the pile of vegetables next to him and he smiled at her in thanks.

Iruka was still having trouble coming to terms with just how _different_ everyone looked, with their masks off. Each of them was dressed simply, in shinobi gear yes but not geared for missions. He would not be surprised if Naruto and Usagi had over fifty different weapons ready and the knife Usagi was using to chop vegetables and fruit was dangerously sharp.

Unlike earlier, though, they weren't wearing masks. In fact, the only one wearing a mask was Kakashi-sempai, and he seemed to be debating between taking it off or not.

Without a mask or hitai-ate on, Usagi had a bright white crescent moon mark on her forehead, set just higher than her eyebrows. Her eyes had diamond-shaped, cat-like pupils now that he was looking closely, and her teeth were just a little bit sharp, her features a little bit elfin beneath the mask she always wore. Shingo was the same, though given that he wore a mask most days in class, Iruka could see how people would mistake him as Usagi's cousin, with his dusty dark-blonde hair next to her near-sunlight color.

Suzume-chan was also not wearing a mask, and was the only member of the family he hadn't actually met or seen around town, though he knew who she was. She interested Iruka a little, given her star-like, hyper-condensed chakra; that, and the rumors that flew around town making it sound like Kakashi-sempai had had sex with the wrong woman and now had a kid out of it. It definitely felt like she had a Kekkei Genkai of some kind, which explained why the duo had taken her in and had Kakashi take custody of her. Suzume was a little tall for a seven-year-old, and more than a little muscled, wearing a bright red t-shirt with a golden fox symbol on the front, and black pants, which offset with her stark white hair (Truly white, and not the silvery-white of Kakashi's though it was easy to see how she could be mistaken for Kakashi's daughter) and dark skin. She looked like an orphaned Kumo shinobi, with bright gold eyes and her star-like chakra was the same color as her hair, to Iruka's senses.

Not to mention super-charged, from what Iruka could tell. He'd never seen Suzume-chan around town before, but that was most likely for her protection. Like Usagi and Shingo, she was almost elfin in terms of features, but like Naruto and Kurama she sported fangs and claws. Definitely for her protection.

Kurama also surprised him. Kurama was registered under the name Hatake, no doubt an effort on Kakashi's part to make it look like he was doing Obito's family a favor-he knew Kurama was an Uchiha, having seen him around the compound before Obito's parents died, but in the background. But Kurama looked almost nothing like the rest of the Uchiha family; instead, he had bright golden-blond hair like Minato-dono, and an angular, sharp face like Naruto had and Minato-dono had had before his death. The only sign he was related to Sasuke and the rest of the Uchiha clan were his eyes, which were almost exactly the same dark gray color as Itachi's. And, surprisingly, the _same color as Kakashi's_ , though a bit lighter, even with the Genjutsu and mask taken away, revealing sharp, fang-like teeth in place of canines, and high, angular cheekbones and features.

That meant he was easily mistaken for Kakashi's illegitimate _son_ , Kurama. No doubt with a civilian from Kumo-the rumors had it that Kakashi had two illegitimate children by the same woman, and a secret lover of some kind. The council had tried to push for Kakashi to marry, but after Kurama had come out of the woodwork as the supposed heir to the Hatake family, complete with the white chakra (he was sure a Genjutsu was involved, as Kurama had _yellow_ chakra where Kakashi had white; that, and his chakra didn't react like a Hatake's did), they had quieted a bit. Kakashi had proven to be a responsible parent, even if it was a front to keep the council away from Obito's last living family-his little brother. And he had taken in Suzume-chan, too.

Naruto, though. Naruto had deep, _obvious_ markings, with blackened whiskers chiseled into his sharp face and intense catlike eyes that left Iruka's inner dragon stirring a little, wary of the sudden predator in his midst. Naruto did not look human at all, and looked more like the fox reincarnated than Iruka had realized at first. Or like Minato-dono with the Genjutsu down. It was no wonder he wore a mask and gloves everywhere. His dark, slit pupils were encircled by a very deep indigo ring, now that Iruka had the chance to look for longer than five seconds at a time, and his ears seemed very slightly pointed, too.

Iruka's inner musings were broken by the sound of "TADAIMA!" in a loud, familiar voice from the doorway.

"Welcome back to you too, wolf!" shouted back Usagi and Naruto in tandem, while the trio never once broke their meditation against the far wall.

Iruka was impressed at how still the three sat, despite the sudden interruption. Most children couldn't manage what they could, but then, they weren't most children; they were part of the extended clan, in some way or another.

Kakashi smirked "Impressive, isn't it?" he murmured, nodding to the three children now doing chakra control exercises.

"I'd give almost anything to know how to motivate my class like that," muttered Iruka, smiling when he saw Ketsueki Ookami rounding the corner, and then he stopped, coming up short in shock.

He had never seen the man without a mask on. Not once. Strangely, he seemed to have similar features to Kurama, but more similar to the Namikaze features than the ones typical of the Uchiha. Kakashi frowned, sending out a tendril of chakra towards Ketsueki, who shrugged back at him and smiled sheepishly. Iruka did so as well, stunned to find the same yellow, fast-moving chakra that he felt from Naruto inside the man.

And then Kakashi froze, staring at the smiling face of the man that Iruka knew looked familiar, but couldn't quite recognize. It was too different, too difficult to recognize-and then Kakashi stood up.

To say that was an understatement.

Kakashi-sempai had _murder_ and _vengeance visible_ in his eye, his entire form _shaking_ with the emotions he was feeling as white-hot anger crashed against Iruka's senses and Kakashi-sempai suddenly became outlined in a sharp outline of white. It was incredibly bright, and hyper-condensed, making Iruka's inner ryuu stir in a way that wasn't quite normal. He shuddered, feeling the liquids around him bubbling slightly as Kakashi's chakra scorched the floor.

And then he lunged across the table, flipping forward over it to tackle the ex-ANBU commander to the ground while shouting "OBITO, YOU _BASTARD_! YOU LET ME THINK YOU WERE _FUCKING DEAD_ , YOU- _MOTHER-_ _FUCKING_ _SON OF A-_ (BEEP)"

"Kakashi!" shouted Usagi and Iruka as one, as a stream of expletives and white chakra began to issue forth from the hanyou's mouth, his features sharpening and his mask starting to catch fire, but he didn't seem to hear them.

Instead, Kakashi was totally focused on choking the very life out of Obito while all three kids looked on. Iruka couldn't blame him-white-hot and icy cold anger was beginning to spin in Iruka's stomach, and his water began to turn to ice, chilling under his hand almost immediately as he glared at Obito. Icicles began to form in the air around him, tiny ice crystals clattering to the ground with soft _plinck-plinck_ sounds. Obito, who had had the gall to let everyone he loved, _including_ Kakashi-Iruka's newer friend-think he was dead.

He remembered how torn up sensei and Minato-dono had been about it. How much it had hurt to hear that Obito-nii wasn't coming back. How his heart felt like it was bleeding. How Kakashi-sempai had spent _years_ going to the Memorial Stone, talking to Obito-nii, after he died. To…to find out, to have him be _alive_ after all that, and _talking to them_ …

Obito deserved _everything he got_ for how much pain he'd caused.

Naruto sighed, and turned to Usagi "Great. Kids, stay there," he instructed the trio, as Shingo glanced over at them "Usa, keep the food from burning please. Aniki, please stay where you are."

He handed the spatula to Usagi, who went back to browning meat and stirring miso soup, and walked very calmly towards the duo as Ketsueki-or, rather, _Obito_ -tried to defend himself from a very pissed-off hanyou's righteous vengeance. Iruka watched, fascinated and more than a little alarmed, as Naruto began to radiate blindingly bright yellow chakra, tinged with red. Obito wasn't really fighting back, which was good-he'd _really_ fucked up this time, after all.

"Obito. Kakashi. _Cut it out_."

Naruto's voice was laden with Authority, something Iruka couldn't help but hear and feel as his dragon curled up, whimpering. The hanyou and Namikaze both froze, with Kakashi-sempai still half-strangling Obito. A small whine came from Kakashi-sempai's throat as he glared down at Obito, obviously intending to go back to strangling Obito to death.

" _I said cut it out_. There is no fighting in my house. If you want to kill each other, you do it _outside_ and _after_ you've had food." Naruto ordered, and Kakashi rolled off Obito, surprising Iruka by baring his neck to Naruto. Obito did the same, and Naruto bent down, nipping at Kakashi's and then Obito's neck very lightly in admonishment. "Thank you," he said, the Authority and chakra gone as quickly as they'd come, and then he returned to the kitchen, with an apologetic smile sent Iruka's way.

Usagi handed the spatula back to Naruto, and while Obito and Kakashi sat on the floor, looking embarrassed and not meeting the other's eyes.

"Truce?" Obito managed hoarsely, still coughing a little.

Kakashi sighed "I'm going to kick your ass, Obito-baka," he said, before wrapping one arm around Obito's neck and pulling the other up with him, in a headlock. "You let me think you were _dead_ ," he growled quietly, pulling Obito over to the table. "Iruka. You have anything to say to this idiot?"

"Quit fucking dying," Iruka growled at him, feeling his hackles rise as Obito raised both hands in surrender.

"I think once we have _food_ on the table," Usagi said "You owe us an explanation, Obito-nii." Obito flinched a little, but nodded "And you owe your little brother a _massive_ apology."

Obito sighed "You're right," he said quietly, "You're right." He sounded sad, Iruka realized, "I'd hoped-well," he shrugged "As long as it doesn't go further than this room. I can't actually tell you much of _anything_ , even with what permissions I have right now."

 **AND cut! Yeah I'm leaving this universe off on a lighter note-we need Obito involved, guys. I would admit to planning this ahead of time but to be honest, this works way better than what I had in mind to begin with.**

 **Next chapter: So Obito's Alive, So What? Among other things.**

 **Next chapter is when things start getting really complicated, and at that point things are going to become much longer, too. I'm currently trying to keep each chapter between ten and fifteen thousand words, but I may have to break that rule here soon...we'll see. Too much is happening for me to fit the chapters as they were originally planned, since I went on a road trip and spent the entire trip working on this world. (No internet + long car trips across the country = lots of work going into this world)**

 **My internet is a bit screwy right now, but I'm hoping I can get DOE's fifth chapter up by the end of the week, and maybe upload another chapter of the Coven of Paimon or the first chapter of my MCU series starter soon.**

 **Also, for any of you who are confused about the ages:**

 **Naruto and Usagi: 14 physically, ? mentally**

 **Iruka: 26**

 **Kakashi and Obito: 28**

 **Shingo: 11**

 **Kurama: 9**

 **Suzume: 7**

 **Naruto's and Usagi's graduating class:  
Oldest other than them: Sasuke at 12.7yrs  
Youngest: Hinata at 11.9yrs**

 **Hope that clears things up a bit for you!**

 **The ages are the way they are because after the Kyuubi attack, it's presumed the baby boom occurred anywhere from nine to a full eighteen months later. This is much more realistic in keeping with _Naruto_ canon, because several babies being born _after_ a huge disaster can be seen in history (i.e. the Baby Boomers in the US after WW2). This makes much, _much_ more sense than having several babies being born, including the clan heirs, within the same eight months as Naruto. Instead, if Naruto-and by extension in this story, Usagi-has failed three times by this point, twice in previous years, Naruto would be two years older than his classmates, which is why this hasn't changed how everything else plays out in the universe. I also assumed that Kakashi, and by extension Obito since they are the same age in canon, was fourteen years old when Kyuubi attacked.**

 **I don't remember Shingo's age gap with Usagi in the original anime, but I _do_ remember that he's in elementary school and much shorter than Usagi, who is in middle school during _Sailor Moon_. I come from a family of late bloomers myself so assumed that Shingo was, like Usagi, a late bloomer. I didn't even start hitting my growth spurts until late in high school and I'm still getting taller now that I'm in college.**

 **Also, guys, I know who Tobi is. This story is different for good reason, and yes, this idea was developed _after_ I learned Tobi's identity. It will all be explained, I promise...just wait and see.**


	4. Part One: Chapter 4

**Quick Summary: Obito has a chance to explain himself, and we finally figure out what he's doing alive! After all this time, I think Kakashi deserves this much. Shikami and Shikamaru have a conversation about her potential teammates and his, predicting Genin team outputs. Team Gai may also appear. And the Hokage makes some decisions that will change the world about the size of Genin teams…**

 **Naru/Usa, other pairings TBD aside from already-established pairings.**

 **With that, we're OFF! Have fun, enjoy the story, and I hope the formatting worked out okay. This is my first time exporting a document from Scrivener and uploading it.**

-Hokage's Office, Shortly after Kenshin Leaves-approximately 0630-

Sarutobi Hiruzen watched as one of his best shinobi waved and exited the office, mask off for the first time in eight years. After a short while, he sighed, hanging his head and staring at his desk.

He'd failed them. _Again_.

Even assigning Kenshin to protect them hadn't been enough. He'd given Naruto a full battalion of guards, but even a battalion was useless against the combined forces of the Uchiha and Hyuuga clans in his early years. Ketsueki-Kenshin, now-had been Hiruzen's answer, quite literally a gift from the gods and a means of keeping Naruto and Usagi, who later joined him, safe. And then Shingo, and young Namikaze-Uchiha Kurama and Hatake Suzume became his charges, as well as Nara Shikami.

Speaking of Nara Shikami, he still had to assign teams.

Ever since the Kyuubi attack, he had been pushing and pushing to change the way the Academy was taught. Eventually, Hiruzen went to his longtime rival Danzou, and made a case for adding a medic-nin to every team to keep them from dying. It carried the additional benefit of reducing the number of nuke-nin who abandoned the village out of grief.

Together, Danzou and Hiruzen had also managed to push through several changes to the Leaf Academy's curriculum, and the Flower Academy's as well, leading to his current crop of graduates. Several of them, he knew, ended up in Danzou's ROOT program. The boy Sai, in the Uchiha's class, was clearly a plant. A plant he had authorized, to keep an eye on the supposed Last Uchiha, but a plant nonetheless. This was also obvious to the shinobi _in_ the Academy, but that was the point. An obvious plant was so obvious people would never suspect they were doing anything important.

He would be necessary in the coming months to keep an eye on Sasuke, but as the boy had done very, very well, he also couldn't end up on Sasuke's team. Danzou had to know this, but Sai was probably also there to spy for Danzou. To get information on the rest of the class.

How could Hiruzen take this plant, and make Sai useful to _him_ , instead?

He couldn't put Sai onto Naruto's and Usagi's team. The blonds would tear him apart in an instant and never work with him. It would never work out; they'd either twist him into something unrecognizable or take him out permanently. He also couldn't risk putting Sai on to the Uchiha's team in case Danzou had something planned with Sai, something he didn't know about, to ensure Sasuke didn't defect. His rival might be clever, but Danzou was still plotting to control the entire village, which meant he, _Hiruzen,_ had to be careful not to give Danzou too much power. Danzou had good ideas, but wasn't cut out to be Hokage-not that he'd ever truly realized that.

That left Hiruzen with a crop of graduates he didn't know what to do with, however, from this year's Genin teams.

Obviously, had the teams been stacked the way they normally were, Uchiha Sasuke and Tsukiakari Mitsuko would have ended up on a team with Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto and Tsukino Usagi. He knew they would never, _never_ trust anyone but Shikami, however, so that was out. He'd have to stack the teams differently.

Maybe… _yes_ , he _could_ manage to get them put on the same team, especially since they were the two odd ones out in the graduates. They were both ridiculously behind and ahead of their classmates.

Nara Shikami was another problem, though, one he had to solve quickly. The Nara clan elders found it bad for business to have her training anywhere near Mitarashi Anko, or with Uzuki Yuugao, one of Anko's two long-term romantic partners, but Hiruzen was tired of the childishness of the villagers and so was Nara Shikaku. The man had been furious when his clan council had forced him to 'fire' the second of his niece's tutors, when they were given more personalized 'one-on-one' time and Yuugao's relationship was discovered. Shikami had been bounced between numerous intermediary tutors until Kenshin had become available to teach her about a month back. As a favor to Nara Shikaku, he was going to give Uzuki Yuugao the right to train Nara Shikamaru, instead.

Let the elders suck on _that_ for a bit.

And it would maybe draw attention to the fact that Uzuki Yuugao was just as sane as every other shinobi in his Corps, if not more so than most because she had two mates to anchor her-Gekkou Hayate and Mitarashi Anko. Traditionalists were often wrong about the strength of shinobi in romantic relationships, especially in those types that didn't make sense, even _if_ Yuugao was technically allowed to marry two people. The only reason they hadn't officially married yet was Anko-Hiruzen stopped that train of thought short, turning his mind to Abarai Kenshin.

Kenshin was never going to have any other students than Tsukino Usagi and Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto. It was clear that those two trusted him above all else and he was one of the few bonds they had in the village, so that was easy. Giving Nara Shikami to them as a third teammate was a boon he could grant them and hopefully, convince Naruto and Usagi not to abandon the village entirely by showing them that people still trusted them.

That left him with the rest of the graduates to assign.

Obviously, Hatake Kakashi would be put with Uchiha Sasuke. Hatake Kakashi had to train Sasuke as one of the only Sharingan users left in the village-him, and Kurama, who had a fully awoken Sharingan unlike Sasuke, but had already been training with Kakashi, his 'father.' He would also give Kakashi Tsukiakari Mitsuko, the Kunoichi of the Year, as a healer. Medic-nin like Mitsuko were rare, and Mitsuko herself needed the push to come out of her shell. It would also help that she was not a fan girl, not like most of the girls in her class. He thought for a moment, then added Tsubasa Sanae, another non-fan girl, to the team to round it out, and to help bring Mitsuko out of her shell. Sanae was loud, brash, and strong where Mitsuko was meek and quiet, but they were friends. Hopefully she could help with Mitsuko's confidence issues. That left Team Seven with one more open spot, and as his eyes scanned the graduate list, he smiled upon finding Kurotsuchi Arashi on the list.

Kurotsuchi Arashi was Kurotsuchi Satsuki's adopted son, and one of the several strong Genin rising into the Shinobi Corps. He, too, was a good rival for Sasuke, since he wasn't stuck up or brash, and would probably prove to be helpful to keep Sasuke in the village. His temperament was fairly even, for the most part, even if he had a fiery temper instead of Naruto's silent anger, and he was strong enough to stop Sasuke should the Last Uchiha try to betray the village. Given who his mother was, Arashi was likely to be nearly as strong as Nara Shikami, if not as strong as she was.

Team Gai was still in rotation from last year, so he marked them off as they hadn't lost a single member, looking down the list at his potential Genin sensei. The others weren't as crucial, given that the loose cannons and flight risks had already been assigned, so the rest of the assignments, he decided, would have to be made after he was finished interrogating Mizuki. He had no doubt that the teams could work well together, even if Naruto and Usagi had a four-man instead of the now-typical five-man team, since Usagi was their medic-nin.

They would survive. And likely, they would thrive, not being in the presence of those unaware of their deception. He just hoped it would be enough to tie them to the village until their children grew more attached.

"ANBU," the Hokage ordered, and two ANBU, Tora and Neko, appeared in front of him silently. "Find me Inoichi Yamanaka, and instruct him to speak with each of these people," he wrote down a quick list of the shinobi involved "about the incident with Touji Mizuki tonight. And get me Nara Shikaku in here. The sooner we ferret this traitor's work out, the better. Also, give this to Abarai Kenshin," he said, handing two small envelopes to Tora, "And tell him to give Hatake Kakashi the one marked with his name. We need his help."

"Hai, Hokage-sama," both of them saluted, and were off, leaving Hiruzen to peruse the team assignments alone.

He would have to come up with a way to better stabilize and balance the teams left, based on the information he had available to him. Hiruzen would not condone sending fresh Genin into the field to get killed just to maintain tradition. Humming quietly to himself, Hiruzen started analyzing the different potential teams, trying to keep the different teams approximately equal in terms of skill.

 _Last Chapter:_

" _I think once we have_ _food_ _on the table," Usagi said, "You owe us an explanation, Obito-nii." Obito flinched a little, but nodded. "And you owe your little brother a_ _massive_ _apology."_

 _Obito sighed "You're right," he said quietly, "You're right." He sounded sad, Iruka realized, "I'd hoped-well," he shrugged, "As long as it doesn't go further than this room. I can't actually tell you much of_ _anything_ _, even with what permissions I have right now. My lips are sealed."_

—Naruto's Apartment, 0715—

Obito could see the change that his words wrought on every person in the room the moment they left his mouth. Usagi looked sad, mournful, angry, more than a little betrayed, and hurt. Naruto was little better. Kakashi looked like Obito had just smacked him in the face with a wet fish. Iruka just looked pained _and_ angry, a combination that was never good. The kids were staring at him in mingled disbelief, hurt, and shock.

He couldn't really argue why he'd kept it a secret either. Doing so would render him useless.

This was his fourth time through. His fourth time joining Naruto after this morning. His third with Usagi, as the first time he'd been stupid enough to let the Leech get to her by the time she was _eleven_. Things were already spiraling down a different path than last time, a more _hopeful_ path than he remembered. He might have been hiding his identity until this point, but he wasn't stupid enough _not_ to try this.

Especially since Ryuujin had been urging him to do so.

" _ **I told you so,"**_ Ryuujin said smugly in the back of his mind, the warmth of his fire comforting and familiar.

Ryuujin had been through all of his repeats with him, advising him and learning from his mistakes just as Obito did. _**"Now get out there and talk to them."**_

' _Yeah, yeah, I know, I know,'_ Obito replied, almost missing Kakashi's question.

"What do you mean, you can't tell us more?" the Jounin asked sadly, looking like Obito had just crushed his dreams.

Obito sighed "Eat first, Kakashi. I promise, I…I'll explain _everything_ to you," he said, "I just can't…" he stopped, seeing everyone looking at him expectantly. "Fine. Since I'm…not hungry, anyway, I'll forego that for now."

"I'll heat breakfast up when you're done," said Naruto quietly, but he didn't look any better off than Kakashi did.

Obito swallowed, a small lump in his throat "I'm not…exactly sure where to begin," he confessed.

In all of his previous repeats, he'd never been in this exact situation. He'd _wanted_ to be, but he didn't know how to tell them, every other time. Not until it was almost too late to make a difference. He knew they'd forgiven him then. Or those versions had, at least.

" _ **Stop overthinking it. Kakashi wants to know how you're alive."**_

' _Easy enough place to start, I guess,'_ Obito said, with a mental nod of thanks to Ryuujin "Well…I _did_ die," he started "When I was thirteen. You remember," Kakashi nodded, and so did Iruka, both looking a little glassy-eyed. "See, thing is," he rubbed the back of his neck a little sheepishly. "Unlike Kurama, I didn't have my bloodline limit awakened in time to stop me from dying. So, I _actually_ died, since the Sharingan was dominant, for some strange reason," he scoffed "Turns out the idiot council sealed off so much of my chakra that it screwed up my chakra control as a kid. So, I died." He swallowed, remembering the exact wording of Amaterasu's promise to him, and sent a silent prayer to her.

' _Please, tell me what I can tell them. I know I don't ask for much, but I need to know what I can explain to them.'_

Quite suddenly, the lights flickered, and the room shuddered, warm pressure holding everyone in place ad pressing them down into their seats. Everyone readied themselves, tensing, until Obito realized who it was. Amaterasu's words boomed through the silence, but only to Obito's ears did they actually make sense-to everyone else, they sounded like booming claps of thunder that had everyone whimpering from the sound.

" **YOU MAY NOT TELL THEM EXACTLY WHAT YOUR MISSION IS, NOR ABOUT THE TIME TRAVEL. YOUR OATH WILL HOLD YOU TO THE REST. YOU MAY NOT TELL THEM ABOUT THEIR DESTINIES, OR THE PANTHEON'S EXACT ORIGIN AND LAYOUT. AND YOU MAY BLESS ALL OF THE SHARINGAN EYES OF THE LOYAL. NOW GO, MY PALADIN."**

Just as suddenly as the pressure had appeared, it disappeared. Obito breathed a sigh of relief as Ryuujin curled around him and Naruto's chakra appeared to flare a few times, just as everyone else's did. Then, Kakashi turned to him, stunned.

"What the _hell_ was that?" demanded Kakashi.

Obito took a deep breath, smiling "That," he said, still panting a little "Was what I was about to explain. I found myself in the afterlife, actually," he said, "when I died. It's…weird. Anyway," he cleared his throat "I ended up in the Fields of Heaven, what one ancient civilization called _Elysium_. It's more commonly known as the _Kingdom of Warriors_ ," he watched their eyes widen, and took a deep breath "I was there for about a year, before M-Minato-sensei and-Kushina-nee showed up," he swallowed hard "and in their wake was a really, really angry goddess. See," his breath hitched "Something had reanimated my corpse, and was using it against Konoha. _It caused the Kyuubi attack_ ," he snarled, doing his best to rein in his rising KI. "And she was tired of watching things spiral out of control."

Kakashi breathed out and then in once "What do you mean?" he was angry, bitterly so, but his anger seemed to be waning a little bit "And why didn't you _tell us_?"

"Let me finish," Obito said, "The goddess approached me. Showed me what was happening to Naru-chan," he grimaced, KI rising again for a second before he clamped it down, _hard_. "I was…there's no other word for it. I was _furious_. Minato-sensei was-just as bad, honestly, but he couldn't come back. But I wasn't supposed to be dead." He swallowed "I wasn't supposed to die. The- _thing_ that reanimated my corpse got away with it for so long because I wasn't supposed to die," one of his hands curled into a fist so tightly he could feel his claws drawing blood. "I was supposed to awaken my bloodline limit and live. Because of it, I couldn't. It tried to eat it instead, and in the process, killed me."

Obito took a deep, steadying breath "You wanted to know how I'm alive?" he asked, eyes glinting a steely blue color "I'm alive because I wasn't supposed to die. So, a goddess-excuse me," he swallowed the words that threatened to come out, "Amaterasu-sama approached me, because she needed," he choked on his mission, remembering her words. "She needed me alive. And she needed me strong. I was given six years to train, in the Kingdom of Warriors, with the strongest warriors alive after she unlocked my Namikaze bloodline limit. Everyone related to you, Naruto, wanted to train me; Minato-sensei and Kushina-nee…they're _slave drivers_ , and I was going to be protecting their precious son, so I got as much as I could tolerate, and _more_. Because I was already dead, I could handle everything they threw at me. Because of Amaterasu-sama, I grew while I was dead, into…well, me," he gestured at himself "And she blessed my Sharingan, so it's a different bloodline limit now. It's the Taiyougan, you might say, rather than Sharingan. It has a lot of the same-anyway," he shook his head "That's a discussion for later. She also granted me a zanpakutou, like you have, Usagi," he nodded to Usagi "And you three, as well," he nodded to the three kids, "because of what the world is going to throw at you. You remember when I first showed up," he turned to Kakashi. "I showed up when I was resurrected, as soon as I could."

Obito paused, letting his words sink in. He'd shown up when Kurama still had parents, before Suzume had been born, and before Shingo and Usagi had arrived. That was enough to muddle the Leech, as to his mission at least.

"And you ended up in the hospital within the month," murmured Iruka "I remember that-you were in the hospital with devastating injuries."

"I should have died," Obito acknowledged "But my mother was a Namikaze. I'm…well," he looked at Kurama "I'm actually your big brother, Kurama," he admitted "You know that, but-I didn't know you even existed, not until Naruto was seven. I found you as soon as I could. And you three," he gestured to Usagi, Shingo and Suzume "You were surprises, but _good_ surprises."

Kakashi, though, still wanted to know why. Obito could tell. Ryuujin could tell, too; he could feel emotions thanks to Ryuujin's gifts.

"As for why I didn't tell you who I am," said Obito, with another deep breath steeling him "I couldn't. I _physically couldn't_. It was a part of my oaths to Amaterasu-sama-until the situation called for it, I _absolutely could not_ tell _anyone_ who I was. I had to either hide or leave," that wasn't _entirely_ true, but it was as close as he could get. "So I chose to stay. I became Abarai Kenshin, until I could tell you who I was," Obito looked Kakashi dead in the eye.

"When were you allowed to?" trust Usagi to pick up on the one thing Obito had been trying to avoid talking about. The Jounin sucked in a deep breath, staring at his plate. "Obito…"

Obito tried to pretend his eyes weren't stinging like they used to, but he would be lying if he said they weren't. "Do you know how it feels to look at your family, at people you love," his voice cracked "And know that if they knew who you were, tried to compare you, that…that you'd fall short?" he ended in a whisper "It's been half a year. I…I was…" He'd been terrified.

He couldn't admit it. He tried, he really did, but he was about to cry and the last thing he wanted was for Kakashi to call him a crybaby again or for any of them to have more cause to feel sorry for him. Calling on Ryuujin's heat, he evaporated his tears as best he could before they fell, trying to keep a straight face.

"Obito," was all Kakashi managed to say, sounding choked up, and Obito risked a glance up only for Kakashi to suddenly _Shunshin_ around the table-why, he didn't know-and pull him out of his chair…

And into a very tight hug. Obito almost couldn't breathe, with how tight the hug was. After a moment, he managed to recognize the _joy-happiness-relief_ broadcast his way by Kakashi. Obito wrapped one arm around Kakashi and then the other, his hold tentative at first but tightening when Kakashi didn't pull away.

Kakashi pulled back after a long moment, managing to get his bearings "I thought-I've thought you were dead for _years_ , Obito…" he choked, looking like he was about to cry, and Obito grinned.

It was time to lighten the mood.

"Hey, now, Kaka-teme, it's _my_ job to be the crybaby of the two of us," he joked, about to move to hug Kakashi again when a blur slammed into him from behind and another from the side, knocking the wind out of him. " _Amaterasu-sama_ ," he gasped, leaning heavily on Kakashi as he looked down to see Usagi and Naruto with their arms wrapped around him.

Naruto had him in a near-back-breaking hug, and Usagi wasn't helping. They shifted after a moment, with Naruto looking up at him, Minato-sensei's blue eyes staring back at him with warmth and _understanding_ in them. Obito was his fiercest protector, knowing that as a paladin of Amaterasu-sama Obito couldn't die, and could deal with a lot more than most ANBU or even Kage could. And Obito's chakra, to Usagi, he knew, always felt warm and welcoming, even if he was hiding his Namikaze heritage. It was probably because Usagi was related to Amaterasu-sama, through her mother.

"You're still my nii-san," said Naruto quietly, holding a little looser "We're just-we're so happy you're _alive_. I thought Kurama and me were the last ones, nii-san. Shouldn't you be…" he started and Obito heard the sentence finish _the heir_?

"No; your dad was the head of the clan, otoutou," Obito ruffled his spiky hair, smiling down at him "If you can believe it, I'm his younger sister's son." Naruto stared at him in shock, and Obito smirked "Namikaze, remember?"

"Right," Naruto said, before Usagi tugged on Obito's shirt.

"That explains too much of your personality, nii-san," she said firmly, as if saying 'you're an idiot,' "And Hyakumei wants you to know Ryuujin needs to _tell_ her these things, or she can't help. You're _my_ nii-san, Obito-nii. You're the reason we're still here."

That wasn't entirely true, but Obito _had_ taken the chance he could to watch over his sensei's son. He was as selfish as the rest of them, but his choice had let him come _home_ , which was better than he could have dreamed of as a child when he first died.

Obito laughed, relieved, and shaking his head as Kakashi and the blond duo moved back enough to let Obito drop down and gather both blonds into a hug. He forgot, with how old they acted, that Usagi and Naruto were still kids, still only fourteen. They _acted_ so much older than that, after all-it was like they forgot how to be kids, except for in these brief moments, forced to act mature. This was exactly why Obito made them take days off while training; they had to grow up too fast, so sometimes it was nice to just…take time to _be_ themselves.

"You're family. I wouldn't do it for anyone else," said Obito quietly, getting to his feet slightly, only to see Kurama staring at him. He locked eyes with his brother, waiting for the kid to decide to either throw something at him, or charge him for a hug; Kurama tilted his head to the side "What's up?" asked Obito.

"You look kinda like you used to," said Kurama "But not really. You looked more like Dad, didn't you?"

"Back before they died, yeah," Obito said, glancing over to see Shingo holding onto Suzume. Ah well, one at a time. "It was a long time ago, though. I think Kakashi-baka," he dodged the light swat Kakashi sent his way "has pictures, and so does Zakura, his imoutou. Ah, crap. She's going to _kill me_ , isn't she?"

Kakashi smirked "Not half so much as Satsuki will." Obito paled, and glanced back at Kurama, who was starting to snicker now.

"You really _are_ my brother, aren't you? Not just in name," said Kurama, and Obito nodded, only for a blond blur to tackle him.

Had he not been a trained ninja, _and_ a Namikaze, he'd have fallen over; as it was, Obito was barely winded when Kurama nearly knocked him down, hugging him tightly "Welcome home, nii-san," he heard Kurama whisper in his ear, and a little part of him warmed, basking in his brother's warmth.

Shortly after Kurama pulled back, smiling, gray eyes staring into warm blue, he was tackled to the ground by Shingo and Suzume, both of whom seemed to _really_ want a hug. Laughing, Obito managed to get to his feet only after he'd hugged each of them individually, even little Zume, who looked so much like her supposed father that he almost believed a tiny Kakashi had just forgiven him. A hand entered his field of vision after the children moved back, and looking up at the water dragon, Obito accepted Iruka's hand with a nod and smile of thanks.

"It's no trouble," said Iruka, before he smiled "You're one of the bravest men I know, Obito-san."

"Kenshin, please," Obito corrected, surprising everyone "I can't-I _can't_ -tell the village at large," he warned the rest of them "I'll talk to Satsuki when I can, and our allies, but Amaterasu-sama _forbade_ me to take my place as Obito until the time is right. And it's not that time yet."

"How do you know that?" inquired Kakashi, who had finally managed to wipe his eyes "baka," he added.

"Oi, teme, don't start; I'm the immortal here," shot back Obito, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Crap, now I sound like one of the Uchiha. Kids, don't repeat that," he added, before Iruka, Naruto or Usagi could correct him for his language. "I can… _speak_ to Amaterasu-sama, through praying," Obito fervently hoped they believed this, because this, of everything, was the most unbelievable.

For a long moment, there was silence.

Then Shingo closed his eyes, and so did Usagi, the moon markings flaring to life on their foreheads before Shingo opened brilliant white eyes, followed by Usagi. Obito froze, more out of shock than anything else, while everyone else looked on, letting the two Lunarians work out what Obito had to hide.

"He's not lying," Usagi said, "He bears her mark on his chakra. She would listen to him."

That was…creepy. They could see that? He'd have to ask about that-was that a Doujutsu? It was unlikely, but…

"Yeah," agreed Shingo, before both closed their eyes again, the moon markings fading back to their usual radiance. Shingo's vanished entirely when he opened his eyes, grinning "Looks _really_ cool, too."

Obito chuckled nervously "Is that reiki, or is that a Lunarian trick?" he asked, glancing between the two of them.

Usagi smirked "That's a Royal Family trick," she said, a mischievous look in her eyes "Had to correlate your story. _So_ , Kenshin-nii, how do you plan on not being recognized?"she asked.

That was the question, wasn't it? The billion-dollar question.

Obito glanced at Kakashi "Wellll…" he drew it out, smirking back at Kakashi "I thought I'd _borrow_ from Kaka-baka here, and wear a mask," he dodged another swat "So _mean_ , Kakashi! I thought you missed me?" he realized too late he'd made the joke way too soon when Kakashi froze.

"More than you know," Kakashi confessed, voice raw from emotion, and Obito winced.

He'd definitely hit a nerve. Kakashi's grief over his death was so palatable it was _ridiculous_ -honestly, the man had needed to get his ass to therapy years ago. Obito walked forward, telegraphing his movements in case his oldest friend started freaking out, and reached out, drawing Kakashi into another hug.

He should've known better. The loss of _any_ pack member was enough to drive a Namikaze to the brink of insanity; for a half-wolf demon it had to be even worse.

"I'm sorry, Kakashi-I won't make that joke again," he murmured, letting Kakashi scent him, and scenting back, like they usually did.

It was comforting, given that most of them had enhanced senses or, in the kids' case, were being raised by and around a part-demon. Hanyou were given a hard time of it in the village in general, which played a large part in why Kakashi didn't take off his mask. He had the marks of a demon on his face, even if he _wasn't_ one, and sadly, the village was filled with idiots. Even the Namikaze were feared in their natural forms, despite being born from the ultimate race for combat against demons and undead.

"Thanks," whispered Kakashi, pulling back with a small smile, "Gods, I'm pathetic," he mumbled.

"You're not _pathetic_ ," Obito snapped immediately, surprising Kakashi-but no one else-with his vehemence " _Geez_ , Kaka-baka. You saw Minato-sensei. You _know_ what grief is like for Namikazes-we don't outlive our families, not without a purpose or more family," he added. "Now, how about we eat?"

He looked to Sunkit, and smiled upon seeing Naruto conversing in quiet tones with Usagi across the table. If he'd wanted to, he could listen in, but from the light blush on both their faces, he had a feeling of what they were talking about. Shingo was talking rapid-fire to Iruka about something, and Suzume was yanking on Kurama's arm and chattering like there was no tomorrow.

Naruto smirked, sensing Obito's eyes on them "Lucky for us, I installed warming seals onto _every_ plate," he said, with a hint of pride. "It's still warm. Let's eat."

"Hai," the Jounin chorused.

 **(A/N: This chapter was not supposed to be so focused on Kakashi, damn it. My MCs are here and yet we're dealing with family drama. Still, hopefully this will give you a better understanding of Kakashi, who's going to become important in future arcs.)**

Both of them sat down, and almost immediately, linked hands, as they all did before eating. As was custom, one of them led in prayer to the gods-unorthodox they may be, but honest and respectful, Naruto and Usagi both were; Naruto because of Usagi's influence more than anyone else, and Usagi because she knew and understood she was kin to the gods and goddesses of the world.

"Obito-nii, why don't you lead us?" Usagi asked, and Obito hesitated.

"Well…for one, it…sounds weird; I'm not supposed to dedicate meals to her…" he fumbled "And-um. Before we start, I need to ask something of you all." All eyes were once again on him "I need you to make a Namikaze Blood Oath that you will reveal _none_ of what I have told you, here today, without first speaking with me."

Naruto opened his mouth, and then paused, looking thoughtful.

Usagi must have squeezed his hand, because his expression suddenly cleared "To keep us from revealing it, even by means of torture," he said "Can we still reveal it to people like, say, Shikami and-who was it you said, Satsuki?"

Obito knew Naruto hadn't forgotten her name; not with the way the blond was eyeing him, a calculating look in his eyes. He nodded, glancing at the entire table to see that they understood.

"Alright," said Usagi, clearing her throat "We will swear the oath, _after_ breakfast. I think we could all use some food, though, right?" she grinned cheekily at Obito "Come on, sensei. Time to eat!"

Obito didn't even question _that_ particular tidbit of information-he knew they'd been planning this from the beginning. Since it correlated with his own plans so neatly, he didn't protest, smiling and digging into his food. Complimenting Naruto was secondary to how he was feeling right now, but he still did it.

He was finally home, and this time, he wouldn't fail. This time, his family knew who he was, so he _could_ talk to them. Ryuujin rumbled his approval in the back of Obito's mind, as he dug into Naruto's incredibly good food, feeling welcomed and warm for the first time since Obito had first earned his place with Minato-sensei.

This time would be different.

-Nara Clan Compound, Main House-0725-

Nara Shikamaru was used to early mornings.

This morning had been no different than all the others he'd experienced since becoming an Academy student, minus his mother Yoshino yelling that he'd be late for school if he didn't get up. No, this time she'd dragged him out of bed to have a celebratory breakfast with his cousin, Shikami, the clan prodigy and the only Genin in circulation without a full team. She was coming by, ostensibly because she was given the morning off, to celebrate that Shikamaru had graduated.

Shikamaru suspected this had something to do with the way his dad was called into the office to deal with the two troublesome blondes much, much earlier this morning.

Which was why he was now downstairs, waiting for the telltale knock to tell that his cousin was here. Shikami had a specific pattern she _always_ used when she knocked, so it was obvious when she entered the clan compound.

It only took two minutes of waiting for her to appear. In all honesty, he was actually expecting her to arrive by Shunshin, but it felt like she was walking to his door instead. Moments after he felt her chakra, something that felt like a blanket of darkness peppered with specks of light, he heard a very distinctive _knock-KNOCK-knock-knock_ on the front door.

Shikamaru preempted his mother's shout by answering the door, unable to help smiling at his cousin. He hadn't seen her in almost a month, since she'd been out of the village on different C-rank and B-rank missions with a temporary sensei. Her most recent teammates had quit the Shinobi Corps after spending three weeks on her team.

His cousin, like most of the Nara clan, was thin, lithe, and a little gangly, with olive-toned skin and short, slightly wavy black hair. Unlike most kunoichi, she kept her hair cut short-though now it was even shorter than he'd last seen, in a masculine pixie-cut. Her eyes, normally silvery-gray, were so light today he could have sworn they were from the color of clouds. She was about an inch shorter than him when he was slouching, too, standing at 4'10" despite being thirteen. Today, she was wearing what looked like standard mission gear; a long-sleeved, navy blue shirt with the sleeves wrapped to her wrists in protective bandages, black pants, ankles wrapped in bandages over shinobi sandals and a gray vest with scroll pouches across her stomach, with her standard extra kunai and shuriken pouches. There was also a concealed wakizashi with a black handle strapped to her waist, within easy reach of her hands, also cloaked in Shadow.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow "Armed even in the village, itoko-chan?" it was an inside joke at this point, as neither of them went anywhere unarmed.

It was considered poor form to attack an Academy student, but Shikami kept dangerous friends. She'd end up mobbed in the streets if they found out, or worse, attacked by someone. Shikamaru was a clan heir and could be attacked to get to Shikami or to the blonde duo, depending on who was in the village and who which of them had pissed off recently.

Shikamaru was well aware that his cousin was very, very close to the duo known as 'Hell-Raising Demonic Pranksters from Hell' to the general populace. Uzumaki Naruto and Tsukino Usagi were doing a good job of hiding their attraction and friendship, but it slipped through when they were sparring and occasionally he'd seen them signing to each other in class. Shikami was also terrible at hiding things from him, though he had sworn an oath to Naruto shortly after finding out. This village absolutely _hated_ Naruto for the demon sealed inside of him, and they were terrified of Usagi figuring out just how to use that destructive power-according to rumors she had enough holy chakra to outclass every miko in the village, _combined_.

That, and Shikami's new sensei was rumored to randomly attack his students.

Realistically, a ninja would never be attacked in their own home unless an assassin were after them. Shikami was not one to take chances, and neither were the rest of the Nara clan. Even Yoshino stayed armed almost constantly these days, and her _yumi_ was never far from her sight.

Shikami and Shikamaru had both adopted the strategy of the pranksters; make people disregard them for some reason. Shikami pretended to be an arrogant genius, making most of the village disregard her as a prodigy but one in serious need of an ego check. She'd had no choice with the clan council's pressure on her, corrupt bastards that they were. Shikamaru, however, pretended to be lazier than anyone in the Nara clan, keeping people from looking too closely at him and figuring out just how good he was at actually planning and strategizing. Shikami might have been the clan genius, but Shikamaru was no slouch.

And neither Konoha nor their clan would be kind when the association both of them held with the blondes was discovered, nor that they were plotting to take control of the Nara clan as soon as they could oust the Council.

"Oh, you know you do the same," Shikami brushed off, hinting at the hidden, razor-sharp and thin knives hidden within Shikamaru's clothes. "Besides, sensei popped out of the woodwork this morning and demanded a spar at about 0500. Consider yourself lucky he's not teaching _you_ , too. He'd probably beat the laziness right out of ya."

Shikamaru politely stepped aside to let her wipe her feet, and remove her sandals, as was proper indoors. She exchanged them for a pair of slip-on shoes that allowed easy movement indoors, moving more quietly than she normally did. At a sharp look from Shikamaru, she started fabricating more noise.

"Which sensei is this?" he asked, as he shut the door behind her. "Is he as troublesome as your last sensei?"

Shikami grimaced "You'll know him as _Abarai Kenshin_ , and he's a retired ANBU," she said, "He took me on after the others were banned from teaching me." She chuckled "He's _worse_ , actually."

She'd been really screwed over by the council on that front. What a drag; her 'suitable teachers' all had to be ex-ANBU and not some kind of 'deviant' for her to train under them properly. The clan council had interfered when she was training under Mitarashi Anko, since it was 'improper' for someone formerly so close to Orochimaru to train the Nara clan prodigy. She was, for a time, training under Uzuki Yuugao after that, but then the clan council identified the woman as a 'sexual deviant' for being in a three-way relationship, and this, too, was unpopular in the Shinobi Corps.

However logical their clan was, they still relied on the support of the general village to maintain their wealth, and the associations had cost them too much both times. And despite that logic, some on the council were prejudiced bigots and homophobic to their core.

Yet another reason the two of them really had to get a move on and prove they deserved to be locked up.

Shikamaru and Shikami shared a look of annoyance, and then Shikamaru spoke.

"I don't think I've heard of him," he ventured, "Is he as _troublesome_ as most Jounin?"

Shikami snorted "More so," she said, but there was more than a little warmth in her voice. "He's loyal to my leader, though. And if the council tries to switch our training off, he's got a few… _tricks_ he can use to help keep me."

That was as close as she'd come to actually naming _Naruto_ in their household, considering how their clan-and by extension, Yoshino-reacted to hearing Naruto's name. Shikamaru suspected that his dad had figured some of their relationship out, but it was only a suspicion. And Shikaku hadn't done anything to stop either of them from associating with the Hell Duo, either way.

"Is he a good teacher?" Shikamaru asked as they headed for the kitchen table, noting that his cousin wasn't making as much effort to make noise today as usual.

That definitely meant something had happened last night.

"One of the best," Shikami smirked "He's requested to officially take me on as his apprentice, along with the other two."

Shikamaru paused "You're sure of this?"

Shikami had never told him everything, nor had the blondes, but he was not stupid. Shikamaru knew they'd had something planned, or they wouldn't have stayed in the Academy for so long, and seeing Shingo, a class over from them, and his scores, meant Usagi at the very least was faking everything. They'd all been in on some plot, and with it completed, Shikami could stop hiding.

Though it made very little sense, Shikamaru had learned that 'logical leaps' were normal for the Nara clan, and he knew better than to deny this one. Shikami was clearly putting on an act, but doing less than usual today. Either she was distracted, or she was finally in a position where the clan council couldn't touch her, legally-and he suspected it was the latter.

"He told me so himself, before he had to go check on the kids," said Shikami, shrugging. She smiled as Yoshino came into the room "Good morning, Yoshino-ba-chan," she said, bowing politely "Thank you for inviting me over for breakfast."

Yoshino smiled kindly at her "Good morning to you too, Shikami-chan. You are quite welcome. My lazy son," she sent a sideways glance at Shikamaru, who ignored it "Has set out a place for you. Aa-might I ask why you look like you were just training?"

Shikami shrugged "I had to meet with another potential sensei for testing this morning," she lied, "He wanted to meet me at 0430 this morning and I barely had time to clean up before heading here. Since he told me to meet up with him again around noon, fully armed for a better explanation of _why_ he wants to take me on, I assumed changing would be too much trouble. Besides, he has a reputation for attacking unwary Genin at random," she chuckled "One of his previous students warned me that he attacks out of the blue to make sure you aren't slacking on your training or he _will_ humiliate you."

Yoshino 'tsk'd' unhappily "Well, one might hope he wouldn't attack _during_ a meal," she said, flipping another pancake.

 _Mendokuse_ , it sounded like this man was _just_ like Naruto and Usagi. Just as insane as Maito Gai-san, who Shikami had actually tried, and thankfully failed, to sign Shikamaru up to train with at sometime around 0400. It was no _wonder_ Shikami was always on alert if her sensei was like that.

Shikami snorted "Kenshin-sensei considers mealtimes to be an easy time to target enemy shinobi. He might refrain from ruining the meal itself, but he won't leave you to eat unless explicitly ordered to stop by a superior."

Which both Shikami and Shikamaru knew wouldn't happen, since Naruto and Usagi both understood just how dangerous mealtimes were for shinobi. They were the one time a shinobi let their guard down, other than sleep, even if inadvertently and being able to defend oneself while eating was an incredibly important skill…even if it _was_ unusual to train a Genin in that way.

Yoshino made another disapproving sound as Nara Shikaku walked in, fully dressed in his battle gear. He was clearly only here to eat, since he was glancing all around, and there was a very serious, worried look in his eyes despite the calm he was portraying.

"Aa, I have heard of Abarai-dono," Shikaku agreed, smiling at his wife "Good morning, Yoshi-chan," he greeted, pecking Yoshino's lips as he met her in the kitchen.

That was curious. _Dono_. In all the time Shikamaru had heard Shikaku speak, there were very few people afforded the title of _dono_ from him-Yondaime-sama, Kushina-dono, one of his compatriots and Yoshino's friend, Fox-dono, an ANBU captain, and now Abarai Kenshin.

"Good morning, Shika-kun," Yoshino kissed his cheek with a warm smile "Set this on the table, husband," she ordered, handing him a platter of _okonomiyaki_. "And tell me what you know of this Jounin."

Yes, Shikamaru _really_ wanted to know more about this loyal Jounin, and just what about him made Shikaku call the man _dono_ instead of _san_ like every other Jounin save for three. One of whom had been their strongest Hokage.

Shikaku set the platter down on a cast-iron table-guard, brow furrowed "I haven't worked very closely with him," he said, in the same slow drawl he always used. "But I have read his mission reports."

That was even more curious. Shikaku _never_ judged a shinobi off of their mission reports.

"The only mission I recall taking with him is classified," his father continued, as Yoshino brought over bowls of hearty miso soup and a serving bowl of pickled vegetables, before sitting across from her husband.

This left Shikami to sit across from Shikamaru, as both turned to watch Yoshino and Shikaku. Shikami, like Shikamaru, betrayed none of her interest on her face, knowing it was better not to give anything away until they knew more. Only polite curiosity and a little confusion was necessary. Shikaku and Yoshino knew they listened closely to the two of them, so it wasn't all that surprising.

"Is there anything you can tell us about him, Shikaku-oji?" asked Shikami, ignoring the food in front of her even as Yoshino served up four plates of _okonomiyaki_.

She was picking for information, but this behavior was normal for Shikami. It was for Shikamaru, as well, but Shikami often beat him to it. Thankfully, the tea was already poured.

"Saa, " Shikaku said, after taking a long sip of green tea "There is. He is a strange man, no older than Hatake Kakashi, but quite skilled. He has a flawless record," Yoshino gasped quietly, and so did Shikamaru and Shikami, though she tried to hide it. "He has failed no mission, despite his terrible luck. Every time he ventures more than two miles out from the village, his missions become infinitely more complex and he has come into contact with more than one priest of Jashin, and walked away the victor of every battle with them."

Shikamaru was stunned. The worship of _Jashin_ , the God of Pain, had become more popular since the Third Shinobi World War, to the point that worshippers popped up in all of the small countries. They were not sanctioned by Amaterasu-sama, and in fact were considered very much akin to the _undead_ that were often unleashed across the Elemental Nations by accident. However unholy, they were immortal, and nearly impossible to kill; any shinobi that came up against one either had to run or die. They only had a chance if they possessed holy chakra.

Except, apparently, Abarai Kenshin, a man with no divine chakra, _had_ …unless he did have some. It was possible he had a small reserve. Still, even for _miko_ and _houshi_ , priests of _Jashin_ were nearly impossible to defeat, let alone kill.

"I have also heard," which meant he knew, but couldn't say any more than that "That his moniker is _Man Down Ookami_ , as he never leaves one of his teammates behind. Despite all of the complications on his missions, that man has never let a comrade die on the field of battle."

Not even _Namikaze Minato_ had had a flawless record in battle, not like that. Whoever this Kenshin was, he was powerful.

"Do we know where he came from?" Yoshino inquired, miko ki brushing across the table.

While not a shinobi, Yoshino was a fairly high-ranked priestess, beholden to the _Shinigami_ , Lord of the Dead. The addition of her power to the Nara family had been considered extremely valuable, despite her lack of shinobi training, and she had been allowed to marry so long as she married the one her soul was destined for at birth. This meant marrying Shikaku, as no matter how different they were, they were each other's soulmates.

"No," Shikaku said "It is _rumored_ ," which meant recorded, not that his dad would ever say that "that he appeared in the village on October Tenth, several years ago, supposedly visiting an old friend during the Kyuubi festival, and visited the Temple of Fire and the Sandaime. Later that day, he was inducted into the Shinobi Corps."

He did not say the man had been interrogated, or otherwise questioned about his motives. Shikamaru found that odd, and Shikami appeared to, as well. Something was definitely off about this, and he didn't know if he should trust the man.

"I also know that he is extremely devoted to a select few people in this village," Shikaku explained, as he sipped at his tea. "So much so that he will disobey the Hokage directly to defend them. And with his reputation, the council cannot move against him. To do so would be considered the highest insult," here he looked at Shikami, who smiled a little.

Reputation was not enough to protect a Jounin, or even an ex-ANBU from the council. Shikamaru could tell something else was at work here; he met Shikami's gaze across the table, both of them clearly thinking. The man had killed _priests of Jashin_ and kept all of his comrades alive.

Then Shikami mouthed 'kami' to him, something like realization dawning on her face. Moments later, the dots connected for Shikamaru. The only way someone could ignore direct orders from the Hokage and the council and _get away with it_ was to have a divine reason not to listen to him.

Which meant that Abarai Kenshin had the hand of a god on him, just as kaa-san did, and divine orders to defend Naruto and Usagi…and if he was not mistaken, his cousin, as well.

"Enough of this, we need to eat," Shikaku broke the silence with a smile "I can tell you more about him as we do so."

Together, the Nara head's family said a quiet prayer to the gods, breaking chopsticks as Shikamaru dug into his _okonomiyaki_ , followed shortly by Shikami.

There was a polite silence for a few moments, before Shikami, mouth empty, commented "As usual, Aunt Yoshino, your cooking is incredible," she smiled at Yoshino "This is delicious."

"Thank you, Shikami-chan," Yoshino smiled back at her "You are quite welcome here any morning you wish for breakfast."

Shikami smiled back "If I am awake late enough, I will definitely come here first," she avoided promising to, however, as her schedule would probably make it impossible.

"So, what else do you know about your new sensei?" asked Yoshino, after most of the _okonomiyaki_ had been consumed. "What's he like?"

"Strange," Shikami said, "Very, very strange. He's actually kind of _hyper_ , and bounced around our training grounds like he'd had speed or something this morning." Shikamaru noticed his parents trading surprised looks, "He also trains like Maito Gai-san, except without the shouting and 'flames of youth,'" at that, all the Naras shuddered.

Every single one of them had had the misfortune-or fortune, in Shikami's case-of training with Maito Gai.

"So, something _like_ Gai-san, without the insanity," commented Shikaku with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, about like that," said Shikami "He's got a lot of energy, but he was training _with_ me, so he's got a work ethic." Yoshino shot a triumphant look at her husband upon hearing that, and Shikaku smirked. "He's _loads_ better than Ebisu-san."

"Wasn't he the one that kept trying to convince you there were shortcuts?" Shikamaru commented.

He'd been thoroughly unimpressed with the Jounin's attempts at shoring up Shikami's training, and it was painfully obvious he was loyal to the civilian council first and foremost. The clan council had only accepted him as an intermediary teacher until she could be put back into rotation with a team, though none of her teammates lasted longer than six months for various reasons.

Shikami rolled her eyes "Yes," she groaned "I'm so glad someone tarred and feathered him after I'd been training with him for a week. Yuugao-sensei was a lot easier to understand and train with."

Uzuki Yuugao, another ex-ANBU, was extraordinarily skilled with the sword. Shikamaru really wouldn't have minded getting placed on her team, as she was one of the smartest shinobi outside the Nara clan themselves in the Shinobi Corps. She was also not nearly as prejudiced as the civilian-loyal shinobi of the village. Shikamaru also felt it would be poetic justice for him to be assigned to Uzuki Yuugao's team randomly, something the clan council couldn't interfere with.

Neither Shikami nor Shikamaru was pleased with the council, as Yuugao-san had been willing to train Shikamaru in private as well. Abarai-san might not be willing to do the same for him, should his sensei turn out to be terrible.

"I'm also grateful he's gone," Yoshino said with a scowl, "He was acting very inappropriately towards you."

It was no secret that the man had been leering at and trying to actively peep on Shikami, despite the fact that she was only _twelve_ at the time. How he was still a shinobi, no one knew, especially since it was blatantly obvious he was willing to sleep with people barely considered adults for power. He never _did_ anything about it, but he was meant to be a responsible adult, and instead Ebisu had tried to touch her inappropriately.

That had been the end of that teacher very quickly.

Shikamaru knew exactly who she'd gotten to tar and feather the man; Naruto and Usagi were _vicious_ towards anyone who threatened their friends or treated them like objects. Ebisu-san had since been forced into the hospital several times, but hadn't been forced into leaving the Corps yet. That being said, he'd been given a severe warning by Shikaku himself to avoid Shikami.

It was little wonder Ebisu didn't have a significant other, with the way he reportedly _still_ acted towards children. He needed to be removed from the Corps altogether, but nobody had caught him doing more than looking, which wasn't enough for a conviction, _in the eyes of the civilian council_. The shinobi council had blatantly refused to offer him asylum, or jobs, and Shikaku had been angry enough to dock the man's pay when he got a third report of inappropriate behavior from the man after his initial warning.

"Will you have any teammates?" Shikaku asked, glancing back at Shikami "Or will you be an apprentice again?"

Shikami shrugged "Sensei left a little while before I came here," she explained, after finishing her _okonomiyaki_ , "he said he had to go fix things so he got his team together. I'd say that means I'm going to have teammates, but I don't know who they'll be. He said we wouldn't be a typical team."

Shikaku mused "The typical team is now a five-man, with a medic. Will you not have one?"

The medic-nin program had been instituted three years ago, after the Sandaime had managed to wrest enough power back from the civilian council to express quite clearly he didn't want _anyone else_ dying because of a lack of good medic-nins on missions. Reportedly, he had gotten this by the civilian clan all but paying him for some form of protection against the Hell Duo.

Retired medics and hospital medics were very quickly required to teach classes at the Academy, and anyone with a talent for healing was asked, and sometimes influenced quite heavily, into becoming a medic. Since then, newly graduated Genin teams had been dying in far fewer numbers than before-a medic was now included and mandatory for each team, bringing the number of people per Genin team up to four. The Academy curriculum had also become more difficult, keeping anyone who wasn't serious about becoming a shinobi from graduating.

"I don't know," said Shikami, and she sounded honest. "I think he's picked a medic-nin, but I don't know who they are, and I don't know if he'll pick anyone else. For all I know we'll be the three-man cell for backup."

Shikamaru and Shikami both knew she was lying this time, and possibly Shikaku from the way his eyes narrowed slightly. He'd have to warn her later, if Shikami hadn't noticed.

"At least one medic-nin means your team will be better off," Yoshino said, smiling "I like that he's done that. Do you have any idea who it might be?"

Shikami shrugged "Only that the person has holy chakra," she said, shrugging. "How about you, Shikamaru? Do you know who your teammates will be?"

Shikamaru shrugged when all eyes turned to him "No, I don't know anything about that," he said, sighing "Mendokuse. I have heard that Iruka-sensei is picking the teams differently this year."

"Oh?" Shikaku asked, eyes narrowing at him "Where did you hear that?"

Damn, not again. Nara Shikaku was far too observant sometimes.

Shikami gave him a sharp, warning look from across the table and Shikamaru sighed "I overheard him talking to Mizuki-sensei in the teacher's lounge yesterday about team assignments," he lied, as his real source was Naruto and Usagi. "I don't know any more than that, just that the teams are more based on ability this time around."

"Right," said Shikaku, moving to his bowl of miso soup.

He suddenly frowned, followed shortly by Shikami, Yoshino, and Shikamaru, as two unfamiliar chakra sources landed at the front door, as well as Inoichi-san's.

"Excuse me," said Shikaku, getting up with his meal mostly finished, and heading to the door. "Ah, Tora-san, Neko-san," he greeted, "Inoichi. From your look, I can guess this isn't a social call."

Inoichi, from what Shikamaru could see, looked grave. "Might I come inside for a moment? This conversation is better had where fewer people can hear it."

Shikaku didn't move "My wife and son are here, as well as my niece Shikami." Shikamaru could tell Inoichi was bracing himself to say something "Does it involve any of them?"

"It does. It involves Shikami-san," he said simply, and Shikamaru whipped around to stare at Shikami, who was a few shades paler, with her left hand casually resting on the hilt of her wakizashi.

So she _had_ been doing something other than training this morning. Shikamaru quickly mouthed 'duo' at her, and she nodded very slightly.

"May I come in?" inquired Inoichi, and Shikaku nodded, still looking grave as the ANBU walked in. Inoichi offered a smile to Yoshino after taking his shoes off "My apologies for interrupting your family breakfast, Yoshino-san," he greeted "Izumi-chan would have my head if it wasn't _very_ important."

"What happened? What's wrong?" asked Yoshino, immediately getting to her feet and bowing "Good morning, Neko-san, Inoichi-san, Tora-san. How can we help you?"

"I need to speak with Nara Shikami-san as soon as possible, about an incident that occurred this morning," Inoichi said, still looking grave. "I'm afraid her name came up in the proceeds after the Scroll was recovered."

"Scroll?" Shikamaru couldn't help himself from asking.

Inoichi hesitated, glancing at Shikaku, who sighed "Mendokuse. There was an alarm that went out about three and a half hours ago, an alert that the Scroll of Seals that went missing. It turned out to be a false alarm and was recovered by two of our own," he explained "Which is why I was out at 0330 this morning, tracking down the Scroll. The traitor talked, then."

"Traitor?" Yoshino looked to Shikaku, who looked to Inoichi.

"You have the clearance to tell her now," Inoichi said, glancing at the rest of them and then back to Shikaku. "All of them, in fact."

Shikaku sighed "This is so troublesome…" he shook his head, getting a small snicker from Tora-san. "All right," he looked at all of them "We might be here for a little while if I give the long version, but the short version is, two of our Academy graduates failed the test originally given to them. They were failed by _Touji Mizuki_ ," he stressed, "who later gave them a false Genin test, to implicate them as traitors to the village. This test was stealing the Forbidden Scroll of Seals from the Hokage's vault, and learning one jutsu from it each, before giving the scroll to Mizuki. And, given their identities, it's not hard to see why he targeted them. They caught him, and he's currently in T&I. The two of them gave your name as an accomplice of some kind, Shikami-chan, in helping to catch him."

Shikamaru had it figured out then, given that Shikami was just a hair's breadth of a shade paler than before. Naruto and Usagi. Mendokuse; those blonds were _really_ getting into trouble. But he could also see relief in his cousin's face-relief that she was finally, officially protected from the prejudice in the village.

"I don't understand what this has to do with us," Yoshino said quietly.

"The graduates that stole the Scroll had their suspicions that Mizuki was a traitor, and reportedly spoke with Shikami-san about it," said Inoichi apologetically.

"Who were these students?" demanded Yoshino "And why would they trust Shikami-chan with this information?"

Shikaku hesitated, glancing at Shikami, who stood up suddenly, standing tall for all of her 5' in height. "It's okay, Shikaku-oji," she said, attracting everyone's attention. "They trusted me because they've trained with me before. These students were Uzumaki Naruto and Tsukino Usagi."

Yoshino went white at the news, while Shikamaru just muttered "Troublesome," under his breath.

It seemed like Shikami's secret friendship with them was about to become not-so-secret now.

"We need to know exactly what they told you," said Inoichi, "Tora-san and Neko-san are here to record this, and I'm here to make sure you're telling me the truth. Would you rather do this here, with your family, or at my office?"

Yoshino was still visibly reeling from the news, glancing between her husband, Shikamaru, and Shikami, like she was hoping one of them would say 'surprise! It's not true, we're fooling you,' but no one was coming forward with the information. In fact, Shikami was gathering herself, and in doing so, she glanced at Shikamaru.

"Who will be present in your office, Inoichi-san?" inquired Shikami politely, keeping up her mask of cold genius as long as she could.

Shikamaru could see in her eyes that she was starting to struggle, but she couldn't just outright betray Naruto and Usagi. She was good at making up excuses, but not as good as Usagi at pretending and putting on masks, and Naruto as being as 'on the fly' as they needed to be.

"Ah, Tora-san, myself, and Neko-san, but you may ask someone else to be present if you like, so long as you are sure their information is valid, as well as your father," said Inoichi, puzzled. "Why?"

Shikami straightened a little more at that, looking more at ease with the situation now.

"Then, I would like to speak with you there, with my sensei, Abarai Kenshin, present," requested Shikami. Inoichi hesitated, and Shikami pressed "He can back up my story, and I think he has information you might need to know. His name will not come up officially."

That, and he could probably lie way better than Shikami ever could. Damn, but his cousin was _good_. Shikamaru caught sight of his mother's face, and winced. He was in for it the minute she left, and he knew it. Mouthing to her 'good luck,' he glanced at his mom again.

Yep. Nara Yoshino was definitely edging way over _angry_ at this point, though she was doing an admirable job of keeping her temper until the ANBU left.

"Then we will…where might he be?" asked Inoichi, frowning.

"I think he was at my friends' apartment for breakfast, but he said he had to speak with Hatake-sensei," said Shikami, "He should be available now, though he might have gone to a training ground-he said Hatake-sensei would be quite angry with him."

"Which training ground?" Inoichi asked, as the group of them started filing towards the door. He paused "I'm sorry, Yoshino-san; we really do need to get to the bottom of this. Shikamaru-kun, did you notice anything off about Mizuki-san?"

"Eh, only that he deliberately tried to fail the clan-less kids," said Shikamaru, earning a strange look from Inoichi. He quickly added "I'd be willing to make a statement, if necessary. I made a few notes because I thought the behavior was odd."

"Yes, that might be necessary later," said Inoichi. "For now, however, I need to take Shikami-chan and Shikaku-san with me for what might be a few hours. Have you two eaten enough?"

Shikami nodded almost immediately, shooting Yoshino an apologetic smile, and Shikaku did the same, adding "I'll bring her by later with more of the story, Yoshi-chan. I promise."

Yoshino just nodded, watching as the ANBU marched with her husband and niece out of the house, followed by an apologetic Inoichi. Shikamaru wasn't nearly as surprised as his mother, knowing Shikami would've gotten caught at _some point_ , just not…immediately. Not like this, at least. Shikamaru took a deep breath, hoping he'd escaped the worst of it, as his mother slowly and shakily sank back into her seat, staring unseeing into her plate. The whole incident had clearly caught her by surprise, especially the fact that _Shikami_ was involved, since she seemed so cold and off-putting to everyone outside her immediate family.

-Village Commons, 0745-

Inoichi turned to the ANBU the moment they were out of the Nara clan compound, after giving a small smile to Shikami "Where might I find her sensei?"

He knew that at least Tora had served with the man, given the length of his stint in ANBU. The ANBU shifted, his body language betraying how uncomfortable he was with the question, and Inoichi unintentionally caught the edge of one of his thoughts _'Sempai probably won't like being disturbed…'_

"Ah," said Tora hesitantly "Sempai often spends his mornings with… _them_ ," he shuddered slightly, and Inoichi caught sight of a small smirk on Shikami's face.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Neko shudder, too.

 _Them_?

Oh, no. Oh, gods, no.

That explained _so much_ about the Hell Duo. Inoichi turned, raising an eyebrow at Shikami. She smirked wider, but her thoughts remained a blank, confirming his suspicions.

Damn. He _really_ didn't want to have to trek all the way over to the _Red Light District_ just to find the man, but he had to, now. And it made too much damn sense. Abarai Kenshin spent his mornings with Konoha's Hell Duo, who were referred to as such in part due to their rumored expertise in siege seals.

Fuck, he really didn't want to have to do this. He'd wanted to question them all separately, in the hopes that one would slip up and maybe give him a little more information than they'd been planning to and revealing a bit more about the traitor, but Nara Shikami was too smart to let that happen. She'd involved her sensei immediately, and as per village law, he had to find the man. And neither Abarai Kenshin nor the Hell Duo would be easy to read, not as easy as his best friend's niece.

Inoichi felt himself paling a little as he remembered the defense system their apartment building had, and turned back to Tora "Do you know how I can contact them? I know, they probably won't like having their mornings interrupted, but I need to speak with Uzumaki and Tsukino as well, and if Abarai-san is involved, then he will need to be questioned, too."

Neko audibly swallowed behind him, before clearing her throat "I can escort Shikami-san to your office, Inoichi-san. Tora-sempai can escort you to their apartment." Inoichi could almost _feel_ Tora giving her a dirty look behind his mask, and Neko continued "They have spoken in the past, and Hatake-sempai will be able to recognize Tora-sempai."

Inoichi nodded, mulling it over for a little bit as Tora shifted nervously from foot to foot, and so did Neko. Shikami appeared to be perfectly at ease-of course, it couldn't be that easy…could it? He might not have to torment the poor ANBU so much if it was, but unfortunately, Shikami had the best defense system in place to keep random thoughts from escaping. One he had taught her himself. The silver-eyed Nara was watching him, a small smile on her face now, instead of the cold smirk that was there before. That could mean anything, really, but if this was her sensei…

Inoichi almost swore. Abarai Kenshin knew _Uzumaki and Tsukino_ personally. Which meant his honorary niece and goddaughter did. Which meant she was probably very much welcome and keyed in to the Path of Death. The same Path of Death that no one else knew how to get past. And it was just as likely that she would refuse to help them because to be publicly associated with someone she clearly trusted was too dangerous.

Unless whatever they were planning (and they were, Inoichi wasn't stupid) required it.

"Yes," said Inoichi, signaling to Tora "Tora, come with me." Tora was scowling behind his mask; Inoichi could tell "Neko, please escort Shikami-chan to my office. I will be back with your sensei," he promised Shikami, who met his eyes with a smirk, and began to roof-hop to Inoichi's T&I office with Neko at her side.

He had no doubt that Shikami could escape if she really wanted to, but this was probably something she'd been working on for _ages_. If that was the case, and Shikami was as smart as he thought she was, then this was something she'd planned for with…Naruto and Usagi, he would have to start thinking of those two as a team. No, those _three_ , he corrected himself. They'd clearly been planning this for a long time.

Tora was glaring mutinously at him as they leapt across the rooftops "You know," grumbled Tora "I bet you Neko-san is just as familiar with Hatake-sempai as I am."

"Ah, but Neko-san is _not_ familiar with Abarai-san, and from your years of experience in ANBU I would assume you are," Inoichi countered, trying to hide his own shudder at the thought of having to traverse the Path of Death. "Is there a way to contact them?"

Tora's scowl was almost audible "If there _were_ , don't you think it would be used?"

Inoichi winced "My apologies, then. I hope we catch them coming _out_."

But there was no such luck to be had. As they landed outside the apartment building, careful not to land on the roof-Inoichi had seen what happened to green ANBU who tried to enter that way-they took in its exterior. It was a ten-story apartment building that smelled of urine, and other nasty things, and looked dusty and old. Almost hollow, if Inoichi was to be fooled.

It was a ten-story building, with the first eight stories filled with traps and other horrifying things, all of them set up by Uzumaki Naruto and Tsukino Usagi-or so the stories said. Inoichi would have been very surprised if they were the ones to set up _all_ of the seals, but he had no doubt the majority of the fortifications had been designed by the duo, if not implemented by them both.

All of this went completely against their reputation in the village. Then again, not many people took too close of a look at their apartment complex; perhaps for good reason. Among the higher-ranking shinobi, it was obvious that Naruto and Usagi were pretending, but _why_ was not so well-known. The two of them were rivals, but lived in the same apartment building-a little tidbit that had been completely missed by the rest of the village, including his own daughter. Ino's reports of the two from their days at the Academy actually made Inoichi wonder if it hadn't been _Abarai Kenshin_ who set up most of the seals matrix.

Which might have been the case. He'd have believed it if Abarai-san-then Ketsueki Ookami-hadn't been caught _in it_ a few times. Seals masters tended not to get caught in their own creations.

Tora swallowed audibly "We don't have to go up there if you start flaring your chakra. Sempai is a sensor, and will recognize your chakra, Yamanaka-dono."

Inoichi nodded his thanks and began to flare his chakra, using an ANBU code, and timing it as best he could to synchronize with Tora's, as they stood on the street outside the first level.

In no time at all, a window on the tenth level opened, and a head of spiky silver hair jutted out "Yo," called Hatake Kakashi, "You called?"

Inoichi breathed a sigh of relief, and beside him, so did Tora, both slumping a little. They hadn't had to run the Path of Death just to find the Namikaze-Tsukino duo after all. He hoped.

Mindful of Kakashi's sensitive hearing, he replied "We need to speak with Uzumaki Naruto, Tsukino Usagi, and Abarai Kenshin, as soon as possible. It's about the incident this morning."

"Ah," Kakashi nodded, and his head soon moved back inside the window. Then, Kakashi returned to the window "How long will this take?"

"As long as it takes," said Inoichi "Probably no later than 0930 this morning, though."

Kakashi pulled his head back inside the window, obviously conferring with the three people in question-which really should not have surprised Inoichi the way it did. But it did, all the same, surprise him that the three of them were in the same apartment, obviously having breakfast together.

And with _Hatake Kakashi_ in attendance, no less. That meant he and the Hell Duo were also close-which meant he was also, by proxy, much closer to Abarai Kenshin than he let on. Hopefully they would also finally manage to do what he and other Yamanakas had failed to-get Kakashi out of his slump, for good.

"Look out below!" called a voice Inoichi hadn't heard before; he and Tora swiftly moved back, only for a man with spiky black hair to come front-flipping out of the window, doing a double-flip before he landed on the ground.

Inoichi had never once run across a shinobi he couldn't recognize in some way or another, but not even his mind was familiar. The man was clad in a black shirt and shinobi pants, clearly fully armed with the sword strapped across his back within easy reach and four kunai and shuriken holsters, not to mention the dangerous stance he had taken. His hair was a little long for a shinobi's, reminding him of a shorter version of Jiraiya-dono's, as it was gathered into a spiky ponytail that hung down his back. It was mostly black, but there were twin streaks of golden-blond the same shade as the Yondaime's, streaking through it like lightning from his temples all the way down to the ends of the ponytail where the streaks joined. He was about 6'3", with a broad, muscular build and he was also wearing what looked like bone-white armor, a cross between the armor worn during the Warring Clans period and ANBU armor. His eyes were the same exact color as Minato's, down to the shade, which was creepy, and he even had Minato-dono's skin color.

This was Abarai Kenshin, formerly known as Ketsueki Ookami. To top it off, he was even wearing the mask that covered his nose and mouth, like Kakashi, and his hitai-ate was holding his multicolored bangs away from his face.

"Yo," said Kenshin, giving him a smile, and turning back "You two about ready?"

Then two more people jumped out of the top of the apartment, both blond.

They landed on either side of Kenshin, and it took Inoichi a little while to recognize _Tsukino Usagi_ and _Uzumaki Naruto_ , with the way they were dressed, which was much like Kenshin himself. They were more muscular, more serious-looking, and both had longer hair; Naruto's was shaggier and had thinner spikes, while Usagi's was tied back into a low braid, with the clear addition of a spiked strap or two to keep people from grabbing it. They were even wearing the masks over their noses and mouths like Kenshin-and Kakashi!

Naruto looked like a miniature Yondaime Hokage, while Usagi…well, she looked much more like he would have expected a fourteen-year-old with her strength to look. Both looked very serious, however.

"Kakashi," Naruto said, keeping his voice even, obviously aware that Kakashi had sensitive hearing "Make sure they're ready for school, please."

"No problem," the silver-haired Jounin waved at them "Have fun with Inoichi-san!"

Inoichi could feel the headache building as the trio turned to follow him.

"Thank you for coming," Inoichi said, as they leapt to a neighboring building, falling into step with Kenshin. Usagi and Naruto followed, with Tora-san bringing up the rear "I was a little afraid I'd have to go through the Path of Death to talk to you."

"Ah, that's only for idiots," Kenshin said with an audible smirk "Naruto got tired of people trying to burn his apartment down."

"And I got tired of coming back to a place that looked like a burned-out hovel," Usagi said.

He saw the embarrassment in Naruto's face, and Inoichi nearly missed the step to the next building, feeling ashamed of his clansmen for participating in that. They'd all been _severely_ punished for it, and two of them had even had their mental abilities sealed for trying to mind-rape Naruto and Usagi on October Tenth when both were nine.

"We don't blame you, Inoichi-san," said Naruto, as they exited the Red Light district of Konoha "I know you punished your clansmen for it."

"It was public for a reason," Inoichi agreed quietly. "Still, I am sorry that I couldn't do more to help."

There was a pregnant pause, and then Kenshin said "I take it Shikami-chan called for me?"

"You wouldn't be wrong," said Inoichi, wondering how long they'd taken to plan this. "The traitor is in custody. You really did a number on him, Naruto-san," he said, as they approached his office. "I sent Neko-san with Shikami-chan to prepare for speaking with me."

Kenshin's smirk was audible "I knew she'd manage it," he said softly, sounding proud of her. They landed outside Inoichi's office moments later and Inoichi turned to stare at the man in confusion, and then amazement as he realized even _this_ was planned. "Come now, Inoichi-san," he said, a laugh in his voice "You didn't think we'd go into this without a plan, did you?"

Inoichi swallowed, and opened the door to T&I, walking in with the three of them and nodding to his assistant, Haruno Isamu. "No," he said, as they moved to his office, "Three to join Nara Shikami, to speak about the betrayal of Touji Mizuki," he added, "To determine the extent of his treachery."

His assistant nodded, not even bothering to glance at the three of them with him. Kenshin's eyebrow went up as they entered the large office and Inoichi glanced at the ANBU, who both sealed the room off almost immediately.

"There," said Inoichi, relaxing a little "Shikami-chan," he started, only to see a grin on her face as she looked at Naruto and Usagi.

"Told you we could do it," she said, glancing triumphantly at Kenshin "You didn't believe me."

"No, I didn't," said Kenshin, grinning outright beneath his mask "I was wrong. I should know better than to bet against a Nara."

Then they really _had_ planned this out. Neko and Tora regarded each other and then Inoichi, standing at attention as the kids flocked around Kenshin-well, not kids, exactly. Genin, now. And true shinobi, at that. If Kenshin had his way, which Inoichi didn't doubt, considering his reputation, he had no doubt whose team Shikami would end up on…with _both_ Naruto and Usagi.

"Really should know better," agreed Usagi.

"Yeah," Naruto nudged Kenshin in the side "Then again, you don't really bet on us that often."

"Well, excuse _me_ for planning for the Namikaze luck," Kenshin sounded offended, but his eyes were laughing, and clearly the three of them could tell. "Backup plan after backup plan is _necessary_. But that's not what we're here for, is it?"

Inoichi gestured to the couch "Please, sit." The four of them paused, and he sighed "Look, none of you is in trouble, but I need to speak with you individually about what happened. It will help us determine the extent of Mizuki's treachery and how much sabotage he's done to the Shinobi Corps as a whole. Hokage-sama himself ordered me to do this."

"Very well," said Kenshin, stepping forward "Speak with me first."

It was clearly a calculated move, but Inoichi couldn't reject his offer-after all, who got to interrogate/speak with the fabled _Abarai Kenshin_ about what was apparently a top-secret mission? Inoichi walked to his back office, opening the door, and gestured for Kenshin to follow him. Kenshin entered, and with a last, lingering glance to his 'kids,' still sitting in T &I, nodded, walking to one of the armchairs.

Inoichi shut the door, and for the first time was aware that he was nearly half a foot shorter than this man. Yamanakas were never very tall, nor muscular like the Namikazes or Uchihas, and Kenshin seemed to have both traits in _spades_. It made him much more intimidating, and cut a much stronger figure than anyone Inoichi knew, and yet, he wasn't a threat. He was cooperating.

So why did Inoichi suddenly feel as if he had just locked himself in a room with a predator?

Kenshin moved to sit in one of the armchairs, and Inoichi picked up a notepad, sitting down across from him. This was the room used for debriefings from top-secret missions or, in this case, information-gathering. It was also his therapy office, where he saw as many shinobi patients as needed him.

"So," said Kenshin, sounding pleased with himself "We finally come to the end of one saga."

"What?" Inoichi asked, frowning.

"Oh-sorry," Kenshin cleared his throat "This one meant that the traitor is finally exposed."

Inoichi cleared his throat "I have to ask this before we begin, Abarai-san."

"Kenshin, please," the man requested with a disarming smile, visible even beneath his mask. "Abarai sounds weird to me, even if it's my name, after all these years in ANBU."

Strange, but he could comply with that.

"Inoichi, then," said Inoichi, deciding that acquiring a rapport with the man was more likely to get him what he wanted. "Tell me, Kenshin-san, when did you become suspicious of Touji Mizuki?"

He saw suspicion and then surprise flicker over Kenshin's face. Suspicion, he was expecting, but surprise was a new one. And then contentment, and something like triumph and a little bit of confusion.

"As ANBU, or as a concerned guardian?" the question threw Inoichi for a loop, but he managed to stay on track.

"What do you mean?" Inoichi asked with a frown.

He, himself, had never grown suspicious of Touji Mizuki, not in all the time the man had been present in the Shinobi Academy.

Kenshin gave him a flat look "Hatake Kakashi is my best friend," the man drawled, leaning back in the chair; his body language alone signified he felt very, _very_ comfortable. "Whenever I'm off missions, I visit him and his kids. So do the other," he started, but Inoichi held up a hand.

Once again, Inoichi wondered if he was sitting in a room with a predator-and why his instincts kept screaming at him to _run_.

"Don't treat me like a fool, Kenshin-san," he said; from what he'd seen, it was enough to believe that Kenshin was _trusted_ by Naruto and Usagi, and that was rare.

For both kids, having a safe space was rare. He'd often worried about Usagi, with her little brother, raising him and having custody of him somehow despite the way the civilian council tried to interfere. He still didn't know who had custody of Tsukino Shingo, but judging from their relationship he'd say it was Abarai Kenshin.

Kenshin opened his hands, looking amused "Congratulations, Inoichi-san," he said, smiling now "You've picked up on what most of the village can't see. And that was with minimal evidence."

Inoichi sighed, "My friend Shikaku often wonders how the villagers can't see the forest itself for the trees. I'm afraid most shinobi are like that as well," he was diverging from his point, so changed the subject. "Your attachment to both of them is obvious, though well-hidden."

"Ah," said Kenshin. "Then, I ask you again, are you asking for my opinion as an ANBU, or as a concerned guardian?"

"Both," Inoichi decided this would be easier than getting Kenshin to give him more information otherwise.

"In any order you'd like."

Kenshin nodded "As an ANBU, I've always thought he was a bit of a loose cannon. I wanted to know why he acted the way he did, after that mission to Rice Country; it was always suspicious to me that both of his teammates died in the Chuunin exams, and he didn't. He had a perfect mission record otherwise, though, which meant I couldn't investigate him too closely, except for the safety of my charges." Charges. That was an odd word to use. "When I went undercover for Hokage-sama at the Academy for a day as a test, he treated me, a clan-less kid, as if I was worthless. I reported him, but nothing was done-Mizuki was protected by the civilian council." He grimaced "And as a concerned guardian, _none of my kids_ were safe around him." He stressed this, "I regularly heard about him attempting to bully Naruto and Usagi into backing down, or doing poorly on tests. It was enough to make me sick. Shikami-chan also started coming to me, when it became clear Yuugao-san couldn't remain her sensei. Everything," he grimaced "I heard, made me dislike the man more."

"So, his behavior was noticeable from the beginning?" Inoichi didn't like where this was going, but he had to know. "My daughter often said he was a bit of an idiot and a suck-up, but he never appeared dangerous."

Using Ino to get close to someone he was talking to wasn't unusual for him. He _was_ a therapist, after all.

"He wasn't," Kenshin's eyes were icy and so was his tone "He was doing that on purpose. He made my kids look like idiots for the first few weeks, back when he actually thought they would try. Then Usagi and Naruto got angry. I was happy to see the asshole getting some comeuppance."

Inoichi grimaced, remembering how humiliated Mizuki had always been "Did he seem like he would betray the village to you, or…"

"He always acted like he was reporting to someone, but my job is first and foremost to keep my children safe," again, with the job and charges thing. Inoichi had to know more about that, and Kenshin explained "I…was visited by one of the _kami_ when I first came to Konoha," he explained more quietly "In short, given divine orders to do what I have been, for this whole time."

"D-D-Divine orders?" Inoichi stammered, unable to help himself.

He was given _divine orders_ to protect those kids? What god would be so interested in Naruto, in _Usagi_ , in Hatake Kurama or Hatake Suzume, or even Shingo, to require such protection?

Inoichi was no fool and he had heard all the stories. How Kenshin was a fucking monster in the field. How the man could take a fatal beating and keep moving, keep fighting, as if nothing was wrong. How he'd ended up in the hospital more times than Inoichi could count, from chakra exhaustion, defending Naruto, Usagi, or his comrades. It was no secret that 'Man Down Kenshin/Ookami' was the only Konoha shinobi with a flawless record in terms of teams surviving, even if his missions went to hell in a hand basket on a regular basis.

It was no _wonder_ the _kami_ had chosen him to protect those kids, if that were the case. He was almost fanatically loyal to his comrades and to those children in particular, and he was a fierce protector. Inoichi had only seen it once, and he never wanted to see it again…October Tenth, when Naruto was six years old, when he'd first appeared. Kenshin had gone on a bloody rampage through the streets of Konoha, earning the moniker _Ketsueki Ookami_ for his fierce defense of Naruto when no one else had stepped up to the plate and when most of Naruto's guards couldn't hold back the mob that tried to kill him.

Inoichi still remembered nearly shitting his pants when the man had blitzed through every single drunk civilian and shinobi and utterly, _ruthlessly_ destroyed them for daring to touch his 'oji-san's little Naru-chan.' He had no desire to see that righteous anger turned against him.

"Why didn't you intervene yourself?" Inoichi asked.

Kenshin smirked "If there's one thing I've learned, it's not to corner a fox and expect it not to bite," he said casually, and Inoichi swallowed. "They wouldn't have forgiven me if I stepped in; he was _their_ problem, after all," he explained "So I helped."

Again, he was in the room with a very trained, very angry predator. Inoichi's instincts were still screaming at him that he was in more danger than he realized and that he should _run_ , but Kenshin hadn't done anything to warrant that, so he stayed put, fighting the urge to leave the room. Or bare his throat, in submission.

"Can you give me a record of everything suspicious you discovered Mizuki doing?" Inoichi knew he was going to have a headache after this, but he had to know, for Hokage-sama's sake. "And-would you please _stop_ that," he demanded finally, when he felt the urge to _surrender_ intensify.

"What-oh," the feeling of being hunted vanished, and Kenshin rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly "Sorry. I forgot-you're not family, so it feels that way to you."

Inoichi didn't even bother asking; he knew he was going to have a migraine with having to deal with Naruto, Kenshin, Usagi, _and_ Shikami all in one morning.

Inoichi swallowed his annoyance and asked the question again. He could already see this going downhill, rapidly, if Naruto, Shikami, and Usagi decided to all do the same thing to him. Gods, why couldn't he deal with a more cooperative group of shinobi?

Inoichi took a deep breath, centered himself, and started asking the legally-required questions. He already expected things to go their way; it wouldn't go the way he wanted it to, not with these four involved. They were too smart for him.

 **And…CUT!**

 **Welcome to Chapter Four of Moonlit Fox, hope you enjoyed it, and the next chapter will be updated sometime in…September or October** _ **I hope**_ **. It's entirely possible you won't see much more of this until Thanksgiving or Christmas here in the US because I will be so busy, but I wanted to at least get this down.**

 **I tried to cut this chapter down. I really did. It was 25,000 words at first. Editing is HARD, hence why I am looking for a beta-reader to help me and bounce ideas off of. I recognize that might be difficult, though-I'm trying to hit a** _ **zot**_ **as my dad calls it, with my stories (everything works, and flows, and you really enjoy it); I didn't know how, and then this happened. Please let me know if the chapters are getting too lengthy or boring; I almost split this one in half, because it was getting so long.**


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